Star Wars Aspyre To More
by omolina100
Summary: Aspyre is cute little girl with a huge golden heart. She joins the Republic with the hopes of helping fight the Sith onslaught, but she gets thrown into something much larger than herself, Romantic triangle between Bastila, Revan and Canderous.
1. Nice Shot Rookie

Chapter 1

_Revan and Alek were standing in a shallow pond, their eyes and hands locked together. She liked whenever they had this chance. Both of them were busy with their training but Revan always made room for him when she had the chance. His towering figure was casting a shadow almost twice as large as hers in Dantooine's lush grass. It's not that Revan was that short, she stood at 4 feet and a half but Alek was just huge. At full height he stood at almost 7 feet and yet, he never made Revan feel small. A smile started to spread across his face and he sat down on the grass. They were now almost eye to eye, Revan only slightly higher. She softly kissed him and felt as her lips were encased in his for what had to be the most beautiful seconds of her life. Reluctantly she parted away from him and smiled, her eyes shining with happiness, as were his. She sat on his lap and hugged him tightly and they both watched as the sun slowly descended into the plains._

_"I wish this moment lasted forever" she whispered._

_"Me too, love" he whispered back to her, hugging her even tighter._

_Had it been anybody else holding her like that she would have felt awkward and possibly uncomfortable, but it was Alek, sweet, beautiful, gentle Alek and there was no place she felt safer than in his embrace. No place at all._

00

Aspyre Venar watched as a flurry of activity happened in front of her. Dozens of republic officers and soldiers boarded the Endar Spire since in only a few hours it would be taking off. She wondered how she would ever find her room in what had to be the biggest ship she had ever seen. Even her father's ship wasn't that big and it could fit her whole house. This one however must had been big enough to fit ten, no fifteen of her houses. She started sweating a little and quickly started to take a few calming breaths, she would find her way, she always did. She slightly, only slightly shakily made her way to the entrance and handed her datapad to the man in the entrance. He simply took it, connected it to his terminal and after it bleeped handed it back to her. She started to open her mouth to ask him where her room was but a few other soldiers where behind her, waiting for her to move so she just kept walking into the ship.

"Hey watch your step!" said a very rude man who bumped into her and almost knocked her down. It wasn't her fault, he had been carrying a big box and wasn't looking, why was she to blame? "Jeez, they get sloppier and sloppier" she heard him mutter under his breath as he walked away. She simply looked down at the floor and went straight to the oldest man she saw and very politely asked him for direction to her room. He smiled at her and she immediately felt better. He gave her very easy instructions and she thanked him and left. After a few minutes she was in front of her room. Bunker number 75, the last one, she noticed with a grimace. She didn't like being last; it felt like they almost didn't want her there, like she was added at the last minute.

She quickly shook those ugly thoughts away and opened the door to her room. There were two beds, each on one side of the room. She wondered who her roommate was and saw that whoever it was he or she was already set up, a picture of a very pretty woman was next to the bed and a very big bag was on the floor. She opened her bag and placed all of her clothing in the cubicle next to her bed. She took out her republic issue blaster and placed it next her bed as well. She grabbed her vibroblade and placed it under her bed. After only a few minutes she was completely set, her clothes were folded, her weapons were ready and her necklace was neatly packed away on its safe little box. She smiled, satisfied at herself and her handy work. She saw her watch and realized it was almost lunch time. She quickly turned around and started to head towards the lunch room, which to her surprised was completely packed.

She reluctantly went towards the serving row and grumbled under her breath, now she was never going to get a seat. She got her food and started walking around the room, looking for a place to sit down. She found it after two full minutes of looking around and sat down next to a man wearing a very, very bright orange jacket, who didn't even glanced at her. She started eating in silence when the man got up and left. She turned to look who was sitting in front of her and smiled at the nice man who had just sat down, his plate she noticed, had almost only meat on it. He smiled back at her and they started chatting about each other. She told him about her home planet Deralia and the nice life she had there until her father's and mother's death in the accident aboard his ship. She told him about her sudden change of career into a mechanic and how she had learned to fight after she was robbed one night near her house. She told him how she had heard the Republic needed people and she had signed up right away and very soon after signing up she was transferred to this ship. The man raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing.

She finished her meal and said goodbye to Kissinger. She went back to her room and decided that she might as well try to sleep, she was a little sleepy and quickly took off her clothes and laid down on the bed pulling the sheets all the way up to her chin, she snuggled as tight as she could and very quickly she felt sleep crawling up on her.

00

Aspyre woke up with a sudden shock, she felt the entire ship rocking and fell off the bed. She turned around looking for what was causing all the moving but didn't find anything, so she got up and grabbed her clothes and started to put them on when she heard the door unlocking behind her.

Trask had of course, seen women half naked before, but he was still shocked when he found his roommate wearing nothing but a shirt over her underwear. He had assumed everybody slept on their Republic uniform. After his initial surprise, he simply shook his head and answered the distraught girl's unasked question.

"We're under attack, the Sith set a trap for us. We have to get out of here and find Bastila!" he said with a very noticeable urgent tone as she finished putting her pants on. He saw her grab her blaster and then bend over the bed looking for something. He saw her sheathing a vibroblade and then starting to walk his way when she suddenly stopped and returned and grabbed a box and put it in her pocket.

"Who's Bastila?" she asked as he was opening the locked door.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked her with an incredulous look on his face, she shook her head and he explained "Bastila's a Jedi, and she's very important to the Republic, we need to make sure she gets off this ship safely." She nodded quickly and, Trask noticed, shakily. Why, he wondered from so many soldiers did he have to get stuck with a green one? He rolled his eyes and went over to the girl and grabbed her shoulders. "Don't worry; just remember your training and we're going to be fine, ok?"

She briskly nodded and started to follow him. He went straight to the hallway and peered around the corner, blaster drawn. Aspyre mimicked him and pulled out her own blaster. She saw two Sith soldiers in shining white armor shooting at a single republic soldier, who fell quickly. Aspyre felt a cry escape her lips as she watched the soldier fall and saw how Trask left the corner and aimed at the Sith. She did the same and started firing at them. Both were taken by surprise and didn't react to the first shots but by the time they fired, the second wave of shots reached them and they both fell to the ground.

"Good shot rookie" Trask said with a smirk.

But Aspyre had trouble hearing him, all she heard were the cries of The Sith soldiers as they died and fell to the ground. She stared at the bodies and saw how Trask went over and started to check the bodies. He turned to her and said something but again, she didn't hear him. She started shaking uncontrollably and almost fell to the ground with the image of the three dead soldiers in front of her, but Trask grabbed her by her shoulders again and forced her to return to reality.

"-attention!" he yelled at her.

"…What?" she replied with a very soft and confused voice.

"What's wrong with you? C'mon we have to get to the ship and protect Bastila before more of the Sith scum can get to her." He handed her one of the rifles he picked up and gestured her to follow. She swallowed hard and nodded and started to walk with him, doing her best not to cry. They didn't encounter any more soldiers and soon they were on the bridge. Aspyre prayed that she wouldn't have to kill another soldier and waited for Trask to open the door. To her dismay, four sith were at the bridge and she had no choice but to open fire as they turned to face them. She let a volley of rounds lose and the three sith that were close together fell down to the ground, both them and Aspyre wincing as they did. Trask quickly picked the last of them with a perfect shot to the head and they proceeded, quickly checking corners and turning dead bodies over.

"Damn, she's not here!" he yelled

"Where else could she be?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"The escape pods. If she already left the ship, then there's nothing from stopping those Sith from blowing up this ship into space dust, we have to get there fast!"

Her eyes widened at the thought of getting blown up. She quickly took the lead and started running towards the pods. She kept running, Trask right behind her. They arrived at a cross section and she went immediately for the door right in front of her.

"Wait it's this way!" she heard Trask say, but it was already too late, she had already opened the door. She started to turn around when got a red glow reached her eyes. Her eyes widened and she involuntarily took a step back when she saw what was on the other side of the door, waiting for them like a predator waiting for his prey to walk into his trap.

A tall bald man, wearing a long black robe with black boots and black gloves and wielding a red lightsaber stood still on the other side. He had no facial hair whatsoever, and only the eerie yellow glow from his eyes made him stand out. He looked at her with a venomous gaze and she fell to the ground, terrified. He smiled at her cowering figure and slowly started to walk her way, he felt an intense pleasure seeing her face become even more pale and her whole body start to shake that he almost, almost did not see the other man next to her until he yelled at her.

"Damn, get to the escape pods, I'll hold him off!"

She looked at him, only half comprehending what her ears and eyes told her. The man was moving towards the Jedi, brandishing a vibroblade. She tried to stop him, she really tried, but as much as she tried her lips just wouldn't work. He slashed at the controls and the door closed shut. She managed to get up and started to bang on the door.

"Trask! Trask!" she yelled, she couldn't leave him behind, she couldn't let him fight the dark Jedi alone. Oh, how she hated her cowardice, if only she had not fallen to the ground petrified with fear, maybe she could have helped him fight. She kept banging at the door for about half a minute when she saw a red glow next to her and her mind slowly figured that the Jedi was cutting through the door. And that meant…

She turned around and started running the way Trask told her to. She ran and ran until she was out of breath, and then she ran some more. She ran until she felt a beep on her communicator. She turned it on and saw it was the man in the orange jacket, what was his name, Trask had said it. Carth! She quickly remembered. Drying tears from her cheeks she answered him.

"Bastila is already out of the ship, hurry to the escape pods, you're the last survivor left, I can wait but not for long" he told her with a grim look on her face.

"No, please don't leave me here!" she pleaded with a horrified face; the idea of being left here to die was too much for her to bear. "Please give me a few more minutes, I'm almost there!" she lied, she had of course no idea how long it would take but she was determined to get out of the ship. Trask had died to give her one chance to live and she was not going to waste it. She saw Carth tense, slightly taken aback by her response.

"O-okay. Just hurry, we don't have much time" he said firmly.

Aspyre nodded and stood up and began running again, ignoring the excruciating pain in her chest, the tears running down her face and the terror threatening to overwhelm her. She passed a few more corridors when she saw it, more beautiful than she could possibly imagine. A red sign stood with an arrow pointing to the door next to it. "Escape Pods" it said, but to Aspyre it could have said "Heaven". She opened the door and saw Carth on the other side. She almost fell down on the floor of exhaustion but he grabbed her and led her to the last escape pod.

"C'mon, this ship's going to blow any second!"

He hastily pushed her inside and quickly strapped himself in. He pressed the red button next to him and the pod took off at incredibly speed. He saw the young woman in front of him, an expression of pure fright in her face, tears running down her face like a river, teeth clenched so hard he thought they were going to break and a grip so strong on the straps her knuckles were white.

Aspyre kept that position for the entire length of the flight, or more precisely crash, and all of a sudden she felt a sharp pain in the left side of her head. She tried opening her eyes but it did not help as all she saw was black before she stooped feeling anything.

"Hey! Hey! Don't die on me!" she managed to hear before she was too tired to comprehend anything else.


	2. Hug's Over

Chapter 2

_A brunette woman was fighting a dark Jedi only a few feet in front of her. She could barely see her as he took most of her view, which was only the corner of her eye. She saw how the woman parried the blow that was meant to decapitate her and slashed down very fast and he fell to ground, dead before he touched the floor. She merely glanced over her shoulder as her last line of defense went down. Not that she needed one but she just hated being bothered fighting petty opponents, at least she managed to prove she had some skills. If she would go as far as provide amusement for her, that remained to be seen._

_As she turned around to face her, she recognized her face, she had seen her somewhere before, but at the moment she couldn't remember. Dantooine? It didn't matter._

00

Aspyre woke up with a shock and felt cold sweat on her forehead, neck and chest. She gasped a few times and then heard a voice coming from the other end of the room.

"Glad to see you awake and not thrashing in your sleep" it said.

She turned, startled at the voice and scared of finding out who had spoken to her. Her scared face must have been quiet evident because the man raised his hands in the galactic sign of peace. She noticed he was wearing a very, very bright jacket and immediately recognized him as the man in the ship, the one that had been in the space pod with her. Right, the escape pod, whatever, she thought. She tried standing up, but only managed to get halfway up when she fell on the bed again. The man walked over to her and handed her a glass of water, which she took and drank down in one huge gulp. She looked around her surroundings and saw they were in a very rundown apartment, not that big but it had so little furniture that it felt bigger than what it really was. There was a workbench on one side of the room, a table and kitchen in one corner and a door on the other side that she assumed led to the fresher.

"Where are we?" she asked in a low and dry voice.

"We crashed in the planet of Taris, you were hurt badly on the crash, but luckily I wasn't hurt pretty bad and managed to drag you here, I've been looking out for you ever since" he said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"You-you saved my life" she told him. It was a statement, not a question.

"Don't worry about it, I have never left a soldier behind and I'm not going to start now" he replied.

She stood up and very nervously and slowly hugged him. He was more than a little surprised at her atypical reaction but he simply let her hug him and he placed a hand on her back and taped her twice, the galactic sign for saying "the hug's over". After a few more second she complied and stepped away from him.

"Thank you" she said in a very quiet voice, her face blushing red.

"You're welcome" he said in a rather fatherly tone.

She nodded again and when she looked up her expression was a little more confident than before. She looked at his face for a few seconds and he found himself slightly embarrassed at her look. He quickly turned around and took the glass to the kitchen. He set it down and when he turned around he saw her standing very straight and looking directly at him.

"Ensign Aspyre Venar ready for duty sir" she said in a very stiff tone.

"_Reporting for duty" _he mentally corrected her but simply chuckled at her. She looked slightly taken aback by his response. Had she done something wrong? Did she say it right?

"At ease soldier" he replied with slight sarcasm in his voice. She faltered and her shoulders relaxed, but the slightly confused look in her face was still there. "You don't have to be so formal right now. You'll see why when I explain the situation to you" he waited to see if she had any comment but she remained silent. He took it as a sign to proceed. "Taris is under Sith control. They placed the planet under quarantine and have a blockade ready to strike down any ship that tries to leave the planet. That means that the Republic has no way to help us and that means we need to find our own way out of here, but not just yet."

"Why not?" she asked with the same confused look that didn't seem to leave her face.

"Bastila's pod crashed in the under city, that's where the poorest population of Taris lives, and we need to rescue her before we can even think about planning our escape" he explained very patiently to her. She stayed silent for a second her mind grinding all the wheels into place. Her face suddenly light up and she looked at him with a determined look on his face.

"Ok, then let's go get her and then we can think of getting out of here."

Carth smiled at her, her innocence really made her seem even younger that what she looked. Did she really think it would be that easy?

"Sister, if it was as easy as that Bastila would already be here" he replied to her. "The only way to get to the under city is through the elevator on the south side of the city and only Sith troopers are allowed to go inside. That means that we need either Sith uniforms, find another way down there, or find some way to get the clearance necessary to get inside."

"Maybe we could try the cantina, my dad always said it was a good place to get information, we might get lucky" she said with a smile on her face. Carth noticed that the confused expression on her face had dissipated completely and instead, there was one of determination, hope and excitement. Carth looked at her and nodded.

"Then grab your gear, soldier. We're heading out as soon as you're ready" he said nodding to the fresher with a smile on his face.

She nodded and quickly entered. A few minutes later she came out, fully dressed and finishing tying her remarkably long blonde hair in a tall ponytail that reached her lower back. Carth looked at her as she grabbed her blaster and vibroblade. She was wearing a dark blue skintight suit that covered her from her neck to her ankles, a white utility belt with a few stun grenades and medpacs, white gloves and white boots that seemed more decorative than anything else. He noticed how despite her extremely long hair a few locks fell on her face and she blew them out of the way a few times before she simply used her fingers to comb them behind her ear. She looked at herself in the reflection on the tinted windows and smiled to herself before turning her youthful face to the older pilot. He looked at her for a few more seconds before asking her if she was ready to go. She nodded and they headed out. However they didn't do much more than that before they saw a very compromising scene happening before their eyes.

00

A sith officer and two war droids were standing right next to them with their backs turned to them, blaster rifles ready and yelling at a pair of Duros.

"All right, against the wall you alien scum, this is a raid!" he yelled in a very harsh tone to the distraught men.

One of the aliens turned towards the wall but the second one started to complain to the Sith. Aspyre tensed right away, fully knowing the Sith wouldn't take it kindly. She was right. He fired at the Duros and the shot fell right on his chest, his hand reached up instinctively and he collapsed on the ground with a moan. Aspyre's face fell and she felt a rising pain in her chest as the life left the alien's eyes.

"No!" she heard herself scream, pulling out her vibroblade.

"Republic spies, kill them!" he ordered the droids.

Carth swore under his breath. He watched Aspyre as she went for the droid on the right and she sliced its head off before it could even react, Carth took aim with both his blasters and shot the Sith officer right in the face and chest. Aspyre swung her blade around her head and threw it at the other droid. She landed at straight shot on the chest but the droid was unfazed, it drew its rifle towards her and she dropped to the ground before it started to shoot. The maneuver gave Carth enough time to aim at the droid and shot four shots, all of them colliding against the droid's head and heavily damaging it but it was still firing right above Aspyre. She rolled out of the way and roughly pulled her sword out of the droid, and it collapsed in a pile of junk, useless. She took a lot of deep calming breaths, her mind still trying to wrap itself around what she had just done. Carth came over and offered a hand, she took it and still shaking in anger and sadness turned towards the remaining alien.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, worries eyes looking him up and down to make sure he wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine, thank you for saving me, the Sith have bothered us a lot lately, but hopefully it will be the last time they do" He replied to her in his alien language. He looked at his dead friend and sadness filled his large eyes.

"I just wish I could have done something about your friend" her voice dropped and slightly broke when she turned towards the dead alien.

"Poor Ixin, if only he had kept his mouth shut everything would have been fine." He said with regret and sadness. "Don't worry about the bodies; I'll move them so they think that they were killed elsewhere."

She nodded and turned around after again stating her apologies for not being able to safe his friend. She started walking down the corridor, her gaze on the floor and her hands clutched together behind her back, thumbs playing with each other, her usual expression when she was sad. Carth followed her and noticed the sudden change in attitude in the girl.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She turned her sad eyes to him and for a second he was surprised to find so much pain in them. She looked down at the floor again and spoke in a very soft voice, trying very hard to keep it from breaking.

"We couldn't safe that poor alien, all he was saying was that there was nothing for them to search for and he killed him" she said her voice managing to break in the end.

Carth was surprised at the sincerity in her voice. She was truly sad at the alien's death and she was mourning him like if he was a long time friend, not a person on the street which they hadn't even met. He kept quiet for a few seconds before setting on a few words of comfort.

"At least we managed to help his friend, and we made sure that Sith officer will never hurt another alien again" he stated with a concerned look on his face.

She looked up to him and smiled a very soft smile, with only a hint of sadness behind it. Carth studied her face for a few more seconds before he turned his attention towards where they were walking. He gestured towards a pair of doors that lead outside the complex. He opened them and stepped outside. Aspyre followed after him and caught sight of huge buildings that reached up to the sky. They had to be taller than any building in Deralia, probably taller than the few buildings she had seen in Coruscant. She saw that the huge platform which they were standing on, stretched all the way towards the other end of the city. She saw a lot of people walking and noticed a few glints of bright silver and white that reflected under the sun's light. She recognized the Sith armor immediately and tensed. Carth followed her gaze but managed to keep his face straight and calm when he saw the soldiers only a few feet away from them. He silently ordered Aspyre to follow him and they both started to walk the other way, towards the cantina.

They got inside and sat in the nearest table, Carth ordered something for both of them while she stared at her hands in silence. They sat like that for a few minutes until the silence became unbearable for Carth.

"Hey, what's eating you?" he blurted out before he realized he had spoken out loud.

Aspyre looked up at him in surprise.

"Oh, well, it's just I was remembering the Endar Spire and, well everything" she replied with a tired face. She felt Carth's gaze as it lingered on her face. He studied her, watching for any other reaction to see if anything gave her away. She looked up again with that confused look in her face that only made her looked cuter, but Carth shoved those thoughts away for the moment. "But I don't want to talk about it. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"About me?" Repeated a surprised Carth. She nodded and he answered her. "Well I'm a Republic pilot; I fought in the Mandalorian wars before all of this started. I've seen a lot of bad things but I've never experienced the slaughter those Sith animals can do." Aspyre kept quiet, something in his face changed, and not for the best she decided as he continued. "My home planet of Telos, it was one of the first places to be attacked by the Sith. They bombed the whole surface and turned the planet into nothing more than barren rock. My fleet arrived too late and there was not a damn thing we could do to stop them"

"Carth, I'm so sorry to hear that... I-"she started to apologize but he cut her off right away.

"I'm just a soldier, I go where the fleet admirals tell me to and I do my duty. It doesn't mean I failed them. I didn't!" he said rather harshly but stopped when he saw the look of concern on the girl's eyes.

"No Carth there was nothing you could do don't blame yourself I'm sorry that I asked I didn't mean to hurt you please believe me don't get sad!" she blurted out as fast as her mouth would let her, not stopping to catch her breath until the end of the long sentence

"I'm sorry I yelled. I'm probably not making much sense am I? It's just I'm not used to talk about my past very much, at all actually, I'm more used to taking action you know? Keeping busy with the task at hand" he said with an apologetic tone. She simply nodded and remained silent for a while, their food arrived and they both started to eat in silence. After a few minutes she looked up and saw a man that was staring directly at her with a lecherous look in his eyes. She reddened immediately and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Carth noticed her sudden blushing and turned around to see what was causing it. He noticed immediately the drunken man trying very hard to both stay on his feet and get Aspyre's attention.

He turned around to her after he noticed the single stripe on the left side of his shoulder. She had also noticed it and all of a sudden her face changed, it no longer was blushed and she had a pair of dreamy eyes on her face. She slowly got up and started to walk towards him in a very seductive way, never taking her eyes of him. She had reached him and was standing right in front of him before could mouth "what are you doing?"

From where he was he could not hear what they were saying but by his constant looks at her chest he could guess that they were flirting. He could hardly believe that she had changed so much in an instant, and how could she forget their mission to go flirt with a half passed out sith sc-. Then slowly his mind started turning the wheels when he saw him grab her datapad and download something on it. She slowly thanked him and turned around walking and moving her hips just slightly more than necessary as she made her way back the table. She found Carth eyeing her carefully as her as if asking her, what the hell was wrong with her.

She blushed again, and quietly handed him the datapad. He read it and could hardly believe what was right in front of him. "Party, don't be late sweetheart". It had an apartment marked in red and a semi straight line from where they were to the apartment. He looked at her, hoping there was more than just this.

"He-he says there's gonna be a Sith party today in four hours and he invited me. He said that some of them are not even going to go back to the base to put away their gear" she said with a nervous look in her face. "You said we needed uniforms to get past the elevator so I thought maybe we could get them like that" she continued. Carth looked at her and smiled. Not a happy smile but a surprised one. She looked up at him nervously and smiled back, hoping he wasn't mad with her.

"Wow, that was good, you convinced me you really wanted the guy" he replied while chuckling. She went even redder and Carth thought her face was gonna burst.

"It was just to get the uniforms sir, I-I, I swear" she quickly spurted out.

Carth nodded while trying very, so very hard not to laugh at the sight in front of him. The girl had grabbed hold of her hair and was playing with the end of the long ponytail, nervously twirling it around her finger while trying very hard to look like she wasn't throwing nervously glances at Carth. He smiled and finished his nerf steak in one bite before standing up and motioning her to do the same. They both made their way out and headed back to their apartment. Carth grabbed a chair from the table and turned around to see her. She was standing right next to the door, very still and looking down at the floor, he noticed the color in her face still had not dissipated and resolved to say a few words of encouragement before she collapsed from lack of oxygen.

"Hey, that was a very good idea" he told her. "A little dangerous and more than a little compromising, but it sounds like a good way to get what we need." Her face lightened up and she smiled at him, hardly believing her ears. He liked it! He liked her idea, she had helped! It took all of her willpower not to run over to him and hug him, but she realized that despite the fact he told her to not be that formal, she also couldn't be _that _informal.

She nodded at him and looked at his outfit. It wouldn't work; he looked too much like an officer to not stand out at the party. He caught her gaze and wondered was she was thinking, her face having changed from childlike excitement to wondering curiosity.

"I think that we need to get a change of clothes. S-sir" she added hastily at the end. "I don't think that they would appreciate it if you looked any more like a Republic officer. He looked down at his own outfit and wondered why she said that. There was nothing that made him look Republic.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well sir, I mean no offense, but you practically scream Republic with your look" she said as she lowered her gaze. "You're using standard issue boots and gloves, and while that jackets looks like something a mercenary would wear, your face doesn't say mercenary, so the only logical conclusion is that you're military, and the only military outfil in the planet right now are the Sith, and we're going to a Sith party, so they would know if you're not one of them" she quickly explained.

"What do you suggest?" he asked, impressed with her train of thought.

"Well, I have some credits, we should go and buy some clothes, nothing to fancy, but enough for them to allow us to get inside."

"Mmm… Fine let's go."

"I saw a clothing store near our building, we could try there!" she excitedly told him clapping her hands in delight. He eyed her questionably and she dropped her hands back to their sides, doing her best to hide her large smile. "Sir."

Carth chuckled at the sight and they both exited the room, making sure it was locked behind them properly. They walked down the apartment ring, Aspyre happily greeting the janitor as they passed him. They were greeted by the Tarisian winds outside the complex as they turned left and headed down the platform towards the shop.

Aspyre occasionally would throw nervous glances at Carth until he felt her gaze burning a hole on the side of his face and he turned to her.

"Something on your mind?"

"Well, I was wondering if now would be a good time to ask you some more questions" she nervously told him.

He thought silently for a second, he had a vague idea of what she was talking about, but wasn't very sure if he wanted to talk about it. After a few second he decided it wouldn't hurt to pass the time.

"I'm all ears, beautiful" he said with a grin.

Carth had never, ever seen anybody in his entire life turn red as fast as she did, and he had once made a Togruta nervous. Her entire face got covered in a bright, glowing crimson color and even her neck had started to turn a deep shade of pink. He swore he could almost feel the temperature around them increasing a few degrees. He could almost see her veins pumping blood at least five times faster than normal and her heart pumping blood like she only had a two liters left in her body. For a second he wondered if he had done right to call her that.

"W-W-I-I, you" she stammered unsure of what to say, her hands shaking uncontrollably. Carth was slightly surprised at her inability to speak. He saw her stop walking, close her eyes and take five very deep, shaky breaths. She opened her eyes and her face lost some of its color. "I like that" she half whispered, half said with a shaky smile in her face.

"What the "I'm all ears" or the beautiful part?" he said with a grin on his face, determined to take advantage of this rather amusing moment.

"The-the beautiful part, you-you can call me that if you want" she replied as her face regained some of its red color again. She nervously grabbed her hair again and started to twirl it as she started walking again.

"Okay, but what are you gonna call me in return?" he asked, trying as hard as he could, and failing to suppress a grin in his face. She was walking a few steps ahead of him and he did not notice her reaction until he was right next to her. It was not possible, it simply was not possible in the galaxy they inhabited for a human being to turn as red as Aspyre did when he said that. Her legs buckled and she almost fell down. Her hands stopped moving and he saw how all the color drained from them, quite possibly to go to her face. This time, Carth was sure that the temperature around them increased, her lips were shaking and she tried to stammer the words out of her mouth but only managed to move her lips up and down, not making any noise at all. She fixed her stare at the ground and stopped breathing for a few seconds; she grabbed a mouthful of air and held it inside of her for a few seconds before releasing it again. She repeated the process a few times until she heard Carth speaking to her, trying to get her head back on what they were talking about before her brain cells started to die. "But all kidding aside, you probably won't forget those questions, but let me ask you a question first. I've been going on and on about what happened at the ship and there are just a few things that don't click. I was wondering if you could give me some information as to what happened from your perspective" he said in a serious tone, hoping his sudden formal change would reduce the amount of blood rushing through her face. It actually worked and she managed to lose most of the redness and her mouth started working again.

"Well-I… I don't think I can tell you much. I was sleeping in my room when I woke up and fell off the bed. I hit my head on the table next to it, but I got up and put my gear on. Then this soldier came in my room. His name was Trask; he told me we had to get to the bridge to protect Bastila. I followed him and we ran into some Sith who had just killed a soldier. We-we-we had to… shoot them" she trailed off, her eyes suddenly wet at the memory. Carth noticed this and then it hit him. That had been her first kill, most likely. He suddenly felt a rush of sympathy for her. The first kills were always the hardest to deal with and most likely the memory wouldn't leave her for a while. She managed to pull herself together and kept talking. "We went to the bridge and she wasn't there and there were more Sith and we had to-we had to shoot them too. Then we went to the escape pods because Bastila wasn't in the bridge and Trask said she could be in the pods so I followed him and then we ran into the dark Jedi and I was so scared that I fell to the ground and Trask pulled out a sword and he locked the door and told me to run and then I got up and tried to open the door but it wouldn't open and then the Jedi started to open the door and I ran and then I got to the escape pods and then we crashed here and then you-you, saved me" she finished gasping for breath and trying really hard not to cry. For a second Carth felt bad that we was going to ask her the next question but he had to make sure, that could all be an act for him and he didn't feel like being careless.

"Still, it seems pretty weird that a person that was added at the last moment to the crew just happens to be one of the survivors, don't you think?" he asked her, a bit hesitantly.

Carth saw her go not red, but white. The color completely drained from her face, she had recognized what he tried to say. She looked up at him and tears started to fall, no pour out of her eyes, her mouth was trembling and she tried really hard to speak.

"You'd rather… I'd not?" she asked with a broken voice barely over a whisper. Carth started to think it had been a bad idea to open his mouth in the first place. What had he been thinking? She was just a kid, or at least by military standards, she was twenty something years old and she had just joined the Republic forces when this had happened to her. He mentally kicked himself for his stupidity and tried to correct the situation.

"No, no that's not what I meant, you are a very capable woman and I'm glad to have you on my side but I just meant that it was a little suspicious" he said before he could stop himself. He closed his eyes, mentally kicking himself even harder for not being able to stop it. He kept them closed for a few second before he heard a tiny noise, a tiny whimper coming from the young woman in front of him. He slowly opened them to find Aspyre looking directly at him, not even blinking for a full minute, her eyes wet with tears that kept flowing like if a dam had broken. She thought he meant that she was not being much of help but this? He thought that she had something to do with the fight, with the death of so many people, with the death of Trask, her savior?

"I-I" she muttered, not finding the words to express herself. She had to be completely sure that's what he meant, it couldn't be, and she must have heard him wrong. "You think I had something to do with that?"

'No, no that's not what I meant, look I'm sorry I said that, it's just that I have been betrayed by people I really trusted before and I just don't want it to happen again" he explained as kindly as he could to her.

"I'm not a traitor" she whispered, mostly to herself but Carth heard her too.

"I'm not saying you are, I'm just saying I'm being careful, and maybe you should too."

She looked at him and sniffed a few times; she dried her tears with her gloves and tried to stop shaking. Figures, she thought, the one time I easily make a friend and he turns out to think I'm just a traitor. She slowly turned around and started to walk unhurriedly towards the clothing shop. It was only a few feet away from her and luckily it was empty. She felt Carth next to her, trying to say something, but just kept his mouth shut. She grabbed a dress from one of the stands and went to the changing room. She saw Carth do the same with a pair of pants and a shirt and she quietly changed into her dress, she looked at herself in the mirror and decided that it was okay. She took off the dress and dressed back in her street clothes. She got out and saw Carth already waiting for her, an apologetic look in his face. She simply looked down at the floor and gave him the dress; she grabbed a pair of high heel shoes and checking to see if they were her size, also handed them to him. He paid for everything and they left the store.

00

On the way back Carth tried to apologize to the girl, he really tried. But what if she wasn't really upset, if she only was putting an act for him to make him drop his guard? No, a tiny voice said in his head. You don't fake pain like that, you can fake a lot of things, but not that kind of pain, she was absolutely crushed and he felt like an idiot all the way back.

Back in the room, Aspyre went to the fresher and changed back to her dress, she slipped on her shoes and got out of the fresher, she sat down on the bed and still looking at the floor, she waited for Carth to get changed. He came out of the fresher a few minutes later, wearing a slightly formal pair of pants and shirt. He was still wearing his boots but they didn't look bad since the pants covered most of them. She got up and started walking towards the door before she realized they still had one hour left. She hesitated on what to do and finally decided to simply sit on the bed again to wait.

Carth saw her go back to the bed before he could ask her where she was going. The dress she was wearing was a white backless skintight dress that barely reached half past her thigh, she was wearing matching white shoes and had her hair done up in a very tall ponytail that still reached her middle back. Any other moment Carth would have thought she looked gorgeous, but now she just looked miserable and on the verge of tears. He started to think that he had been a jerk to her and maybe he should apologize.

"Look" he said, pulling a chair and sitting down in front of her. "I'm really sorry I said that. I know you think I'm just blaming you for everything but I'm really not it's just that-"he broke off for a second before organizing his thoughts. "Maybe if you let me explain, you would understand a little better." She looked up at him, tears again threatening to come crashing down on her face again and he resolved it would be best to continue. "Five years ago the Mandalorian wars had finished, Revan and Malak were heroes and I was damn proud to have served in the fleet. Then they went off to whatever place they went and they turned on us. I didn't know what to think when that happened" he narrated as she kept trying really hard not to cry.

"So they turned to the dark side, what does that have to do with me?" she asked him in a trembling voice.

"It's not just that. There were others, men. Good men on our side that I thought were loyal to the Republic turned to join them. Revan and Malak and the Sith deserve to die for what they have done but that ones that joined them are even worse" he finished with a pressure on his chest. "The dark side has nothing to do with why they joined them; they joined them out of pure greed and fear."

She patiently waited for him to continue but when he remained quiet she felt uneasiness on her chest. Surely there was more than that, the reason he gave wasn't that strong, that could cause distrust of course, but to cause such a large amount of disbelief, towards her? She knew there was something more and she pressured him with her eyes.

"There's more to the story?" she asked, this time successfully fighting back the tears.

"Yes there's more but, I don't want to talk about it right now" he said firmly.

Aspyre knew better than to pressure him and simply nodded. She did feel a little better. He had after all, trusted her enough to tell her this part of the story, maybe if she kept helping him, maybe he would start to trust her a bit more. She looked at her watch and saw that the time had flown by; it was already eight thirty and the party started in half an hour. She mentioned this to him and they both stood up and left.

00

It was past midnight when they returned from the party. Each carried a big pack on their backs and they set them down on the floor. Aspyre grabbed her back and fell down on the couch as soon as she reached it. She closed her eyes and did not even bother to take off her dress before sleep started to claim her. Carth saw her fall down on the couch and almost immediately fall asleep, he grabbed a blanket, pulled it on top of her and went down to bed himself, he took of his boots and fell asleep. He was so tired he felt like he could sleep forever and he soon also felt the tendrils of sleep start creeping on him.


	3. You're So Mean

Chapter 3

_The grass plains of Dantooine felt soft against her naked feet, she turned around and saw Alek only one step behind her, throwing a worried glance over his shoulder to the enclave. She went to him and stood on her tiptoes, but only reached the upper part of his chest. She hugged him and pressed her face next to him, feeling his heartbeat. He turned around to face her, all traces of concern gone. They sat down on the grass and Revan climbed on top of him forcing him to lie down, she started kissing him and touching him. She took off her top robe and felt as Alek looked at her, stared at her and committed her half naked body to memory. She smiled naughtily at him and took off his shirt as well. Their eyes met and their gaze locked, unaware of anything else. They were in such a trance that neither saw the figure that had spotted them._

_"Re-Revan?" a serious voice asked._

_Still looking at Alek, she felt all the color leave her face and her lower lip start to tremble. She grabbed her robe, covered her chest with it and turned around, her eyes wide with fear to see none other than master Dorak. Revan felt her entire body tremble and beneath her, Alek started to get up. She quickly turned around and put on her robe, and she saw him do the same. She stood up and looked at the master, tears in her eyes. She knew this could happen and had no words to apologize to him. He looked at her and then at Alek, a look of profound disappointment on his face. He turned around and started to walk to the enclave but Revan ran up to him and grabbed him by his wrist pleading, begging him to please keep their secret. She got down on her knees and begged, truly begged for him to not separate them. Dorak looked down at her, tears falling on the ground, and for a second, sympathy flashed on his face, he had seen a look of happiness, true, complete and utter happiness in her face, and Revan felt hope rise in her chest, But alas, the second was gone he started to walk back to the enclave, leaving her on the ground. She felt as if her entire world had just crumbled beneath her, she felt destroyed and felt cold, thick fear grip her as she knew what the consequences of her actions were._

_Alek looked at her, crumbled in the ground and rushed over to help her, he lifted her in his arms and stared into her tearful eyes, it wasn't until he saw a tear drop on her face that he figured out he was crying too. But it didn't matter; he held her tightly against him and sat down on the grass. They both stayed like that for a long time and after a few hours, they felt and heard four figures walking towards them. Revan shuddered and looked up at him and kissed him, she kissed him like their lives were about to end, she kissed him like there was no tomorrow and as if nothing else mattered. And he kissed her right back, because he knew, there was probably not gonna be a tomorrow for them, their life together was probably going to end and he knew, that nothing else mattered._

00

Aspyre woke up with a shudder, felt her lips wet and moist, an incredible sense of despair in her chest and tears in her eyes. She managed to glimpse that it was still dark outside the window, probably around three or four in the morning judging by the darkness. What had she dreamt about? Dantooine? She had dreamt about, a man? And her? Or had it been somebody else? Why had she been crying? She tried to place the pieces back together but received a sharp and very painful headache in return. She grabbed her head with both hands and tried to stop thinking. A moan escaped her lips and she half saw Carth waking up immediately. He stared at her for a few seconds and she felt the pain in her head increase. He went over to her and laid her back down. He told her to close her eyes and go back to sleep. She did as she was told and felt a slight relief as she started to drift back to sleep.

She woke up a few hours later and saw Carth's empty bed. She looked around and saw a Sith soldier in her apartment, going through their stuff. A feeling of terror and despair started to rise and she desperately looked for a weapon, anything, absolutely anything to protect herself from him. What had he done to Carth? He was nowhere to be seen. Had he killed him? Had he seen her? She did her best not to let out a moan of fear as she turned her head to the other side. She finally saw her blaster near Carth's bed and made an effort to noiselessly grab it, she had however, not seen the datapad next to her bed and she watched in horror as she bumped it and it fell down the table. Her eyes widened, her hands started to shake and she felt as much fear as she felt in the presence of the Jedi in the Endar Spire. Her life was over, she knew it, she was twenty four and she was about to die, she had so much to do, she couldn't die, she just couldn't die yet, not like this, after what she had survived she couldn't just die shot in a couch by a Sith. She slowly turned around her head and saw the soldier looking at her. However, the moment she met his gaze, or at least looked at his helmet where she thought his eyes would be he left a soft "oh" and started to take off his helmet. A huge wave of relief crashed over Aspyre as she saw the familiar face of Carth Onasi under the helmet, all the memories of last night coming back to her. She almost passed out of the relief and she let her head fall down. Carth quickly realized the extent of his foolishness and quickly got her a glass of water and lifted her head.

"I hate you Carth Onasi!" she yelled at the top of her lungs when he lifted her head. "I almost had a heart attack! You're so mean!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He yelled back at her trying to calm her down. His mind racing, trying to stop her shaking he did the only thing he could, he grabbed her and hugged her as tight as he could. She stopped shaking immediately and stood completely stiff for a few moments. After her initial shock she relaxed and hugged him back. Carth felt on his back the "hug's over" pat and let her go, smiling. She smiled back at him and sniffed back a few tears and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her dress. She quickly drank her glass of water and calmed down.

"I'm sorry I said I hated you, Carth, I really don't hate you" she said with a soft whisper.

He simply nodded at her and told her to get into her uniform, they were heading to the lower city and they had to be prepared, and better be safe than sorry. After a few minutes she came out of the fresher with her shiny new armor. Carth looked at her and walked over to help her adjust her hair. She tied it in her usual ponytail but this time she tucked it inside her undershirt. She placed her helmet on and if Carth had not seen her wear the armor she would have looked like a true Sith soldier. Now he realized the terror she must have felt when she woke up and inwardly winced to himself. She looked directly at him, or at least he thought she was looking at him and he had no problem imagining her smirking at him. He smiled at her back and placed his helmet back on.

00

The descend was not that short and after two minutes Aspyre took her helmet off and started to take off her armor. Carth stood there simply turning his back to her and letting her change. After another pair of minutes he turned around and she was already dressed in her blue suit, her hair untied and falling all the way down to her lower back. She smiled at him and began to tie her hair back in her ponytail but when she was tying it, the band broke and she was forced to wear it regularly, combing it behind her ears as best she could. Inwardly, Carth thought that she looked better this way but said nothing to her. Following her example he took off his armor and placed it on his pack, to Aspyre's surprise, he was already wearing his very bright orange jacket. She took her hand to her mouth and tried to hide a smile but Carth saw it anyways. He merely chuckled and then the door opened.

Two men and a Rodian stood in front of three men and started exchanging insults. The Rodian said that the Hidden Reks were stronger than the Black Vulvars, or something like that, she wasn't really paying that mcuh attention to what they were saying. What ever he said, the man in front of him responded by grabbing his blade and stabbing him straight in his face. Aspyre whimpered as the Rodian fell and the two men followed very soon. The Vulvars, or Vulkars turned around and saw them. She heard Carth swear and pulled out his double blasters. She pulled her own out and fired at the one on the left and Carth fired on the center one. The one on the right jumped on top of her and forced to the ground. He was about to stab her face but she fired straight into his stomach at point blank range, he struggled to move but finally crumpled on top of her. She tried to get him off but he was way too heavy for her. She saw Carth grab hold of the man's, or rather the corpse's shoulder and pulled him off her and offered her his hand. She grabbed it and stood up. She looked around and saw the three gang members lying on the ground, blood running open in their wounds. She did her best to not whimper and simply followed Carth as he went to the Cantina.

They sat down on the table and Aspyre watched as two Rodians and a Twi'lek stood in front of a short man wearing a blue jacket, a white hat and goggles. The Rodian on the left took a step forward and the short man turn to him.

"Go away" he grumbled to them, very rudely, Aspyre thought.

"Hey don't talk like that" the Rodian responded "We only want to say hello to the big, bad bounty hunter Calo Nord!"

"Nah, he can't be Calo Nord, I heard Nord is strong and tough, this guy's a wimp" the Twi'lek said in his native language.

"One" he said.

Aspyre's eyes widened as she realized what the bounty hunter was doing. She had seen it twice in Deralia. She stood up quickly and tried to think what to do; those men did not have much time left.

"Two" he counted.

"One, two? What is he saying? Is he counting how many of us there are?"

"Please stop! Leave him alone, he's gonna kill you!" she yelled at the aliens and the Rodian looked at her like she was crazy. She ran to him and grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away but he merely shoved her to the side.

"You should have listened to her. Three" he said and threw a flash grenade at their feet and the three hunters drew their blasters but it was too late. Aspyre shut her eyes and heard the explosion only a foot away from her and then heard three blaster shots. When she opened her eye, the three hunters were dead and Calo was walking away. She quickly checked their necks for a pulse, ignoring the massive ringing in her ears and found one on the Twi'lek; she quickly took out one of her medpacs but was stopped by a hand in her shoulder. She looked up and saw Carth looking down at her, a grim look on his face, she looked at the Twi'lek and his eyes no longer had any life on them. She slowly placed her fingers on his neck and even more slowly drew them away and closed his eyes. She sadly placed her medpacs away and stood up next to Carth. He took her hand and dragged her away from there. He led her to a table on the other side of the cantina. And there they saw a little Twi'lek girl facing off two Rodians. Carth rolled his eyes, were they going to get any peace in here?

"Hey Zaalbar get over here!" the Twi'lek yelled in basic.

"Mission I just got my food!" The wookie roared in response. Carth didn't get it but from the look in Aspyre's face she was following the conversation and grew a little tense.

"You can finish eating later, now come here, you could use the exercise!"

The wookie got up and made his way towards the blue alien girl and the two Rodians got visibly nervous at the sight of the already annoyed wookie moving towards them.

"Hey our quarrel's not with big alien, it's with you, little girl!" The Rodian snapped back, clearly he was not very smart.

"You got a problem with me? Then you got a problem with Big Z. So unless you want to have your little arms ripped apart you better scramble out of here, bug breath" the girl replied with a smirk on her face.

The two aliens turned around and left the cantina, mumbling something about the girl being lucky.

Aspyre stood up and went towards the girl, Carth right behind her. The little blue Twi'lek turned around, meeting Aspyre's gaze head on, and smiled at her.

"Say I don't know you and I know just about everybody in the lower city, so that means you must be new. Guess that makes me and Big Z your welcoming committee. My name's Mission Vao and this fellow right here is my best friend Zaalbar."

"You have some guts standing up to those bugs kid" said Carth looking at the kid up and down.

"I'm not a kid, I'm already 14 years old" she replied with a proud smile on her face.

Aspyre smiled, immediately liking Mission's hyperactivity and happiness. After a few minutes they found out that Calo Nord was one of the best bounty hunters in the business, they found out that the Hidden Beks where probably the gang to see if they needed help finding information about the escape pods that crashed in the under city. They said goodbye and Aspyre and Carth went to sit down in their table. Mission left and Zaalbar followed her, complaining about leaving his meal behind. Carth went over and grabbed his food and ordered another meal for Aspyre while he started eating it. Aspyre looked at him and silently hoped that Zaalbar didn't come back looking for his meal. She sat down in her chair and pulled her hair before it touched the floor and placed it on her knees. She stroked her hair while waiting for her meal and immediately started eating her nerf burger. After they were done, they both stood up and went looking for the Hidden Bek's base.

They arrived at the door and after convincing the guard that they meant no harm towards the Bek's they went inside. The base was a flurry of activity and it reminded Aspyre of a quieter Endar Spire. There were multiple types of aliens moving around the base silently only speaking when they had to.

Carth and Aspyre moved towards a man with darker skin, a few creases on his face and a pair of ocular implants with a very sensible air of superiority but at the same time, humbleness. The man looked up at them and smiled at them when he saw Aspyre's nervous face looking straight at him. He smiled and motioned them to come over and they obliged but when they were four feet away from him, a green and yellow Twi'lek pointed a blaster at her and Aspyre found herself raising her hands instinctively.

"Who are you, and what is your business with Gadon?" she demanded.

"Calm down Zaedra!" The older man ordered her. "We are not going to start shooting at random people like the Vulkars; nobody is going to try anything in our base. That would simply be suicide."

"You're too trusting Gadon" she snapped at him, but lowered her blaster.

"We don't want to try anything, we're just looking for some information about the escape pods that crashed in the under city and this girl, Mission Vao told me that I could ask you" Aspyre said quickly to him.

Gadon seemed to think for a second whenever it would be safe or not to tell her and after a few seconds he decided to trust her.

"Well, you certainly don't look Sith, I'll tell you what I know, it's not like it can hurt me or my gang, but It might cause trouble for the Vulkars, and that's all right in my book. The Vulkars stripped those pods clean as soon as they landed. They found a lot of useful things, among them, a Republic Officer named Bastila."

Aspyre felt her jaw drop open and behind her Carth face lost its color.

"Don't worry, Brejick and his Vulkars won't do anything to her, she's far too valuable, and he offered her as his part of the prize for the Taris Swoop Tournament" he comforted them. "At least I don't think he would."

"We have to get her back!" The girl said.

Gadon slowly started to grind wheels in his head and after a few seconds an idea formed in his head.

"Well, there might be a way for both of us to gain something from this. I', going to offer you a deal that you can't refuse" he said with a very convincing tone. The girl looked at him and as she heard his plan and he saw her face light up with a smile but then as he finished explaining it to her, her face was grim, her lower lip was shaking and her eyes betrayed the fear inside of her.

"I-I'll do it" she said firmly, even though the fear was still very much present in her eyes. Behind her, her companion stiffened and dragged her away from them and started talking to her, obviously unhappy about the arrangement. Gadon waited patiently for her to come back and smiled when he saw her pushing him aside and nodding to him. "You got a deal Gadon, I'll be back soon" she stated and they both left.

00

Bastila felt as she was dragged away from her escape pod, the effort of using her battle meditation had made her very weary and she had not been able to fight back for very long. The men picked her up roughly by her arms and pulled her away. After a few minutes, or it could have been hours, she wasn't sure, she was dragged in front of a man who was clearly the leader and they left them alone. Bastila felt as he grabbed her and tossed her in his bed. He went outside her field of vision and returned with some sort of headband on his hands. He lifted her head and placed the band on her forehead, making sure it was tight enough. She felt nothing for a few seconds but then he pressed a button and she sudden felt completely cut off from everything. She felt as if they had taken her breath away, her thoughts, her control and her willpower. She tried to move her mouth, to ask him what he had done to her, what was causing her so much suffering, but to no avail. Her eyes started to dry as she found she was unable to blink and she felt as his fingers closed them. From that point on, she did not hear, taste, smell, or see anything, she only felt. And what she felt, what she felt him doing to her; Bastila Shan would spend most of her life trying to forget it.

00

Aspyre felt very sad as she walked in the under city. She had seen misery before of course, she had seen homeless people who had to steal in order to eat, but she had never seen it on such a massive scale. She had never imagined that there would be an entire _city _living in misery. A few tents where laid in the center of the town and about four people where in each tent, many others just slept in the ground outside the tents and a few had started fires to keep warm. They met the village leader who told them that Mission Vao was usually outside the city, exploring the sewers with her wookie friend. They thanked him and they went on their way. As they reached the city gate they saw a woman begging the gate keeper to open it and shouting and somebody on the other side of the gate to run for their life. They approached the gate and saw a man with a double vibroblade running towards the gate, a horrific beast right behind him.

She gasped as she had a clearer view of the monster that was chasing the man. It had pale white skin that seemed to be rotten and barely being held together. It had teeth the size of her fingers and ran on all fours. It was gaining on him and if the gate keeper didn't open the door that thing was definitely gonna eat him.

"Open the gate!" she yelled at the man. "Please"

"I can't, if I open the gate the Rackghouls are gonna kill us all!"

"We'll kill them" Carth stepped in front of Aspyre and pointed his blaster at the gate. "Open it."

The woman, the gate keeper and Aspyre looked at Carth like he was knight. The man stood in awe for a split second and opened the rusty metal gate, it had not finished opening when he fired a single shot the almost grazed the man but instead it kept going and hit the beast that had just lunged at him and was a foot away from him. Carth ran to the other side and allowed the man to go back inside the city. Aspyre ran next to him and pulled her blaster, she aimed at the monster on the right and fired three times, only one shot colliding with her target, but only one was needed, the beast fell on the ground and was quickly ran over by two other Rackghouls closing in on them. Carth pulled out his second blaster and fired twice at the closest Rackghouls on his right before turning on the two that where almost on top of Aspyre. He shot twice and one of the beasts fell dead, barely two feet away from her. She dropped on the ground as if she had slipped and aimed her blaster to the sky, or in this case, the lower city's ground, she waited until the monster jumped and was right on top of her to fire and she caught him right in the stomach, she saw the bolt rip through its stomach and come out through its back, the creature's corpse kept moving in an arch and she hit the ground hard. She was breathing heavily and watched from an upside down angle as the dead body fell to the ground and twitched twice before it stopped moving.

She turned her head to the right, and saw Carth smiling at her.

"Nice move, you'll have to teach it to me sometime" he congratulated her.

She blushed and decided it would be only slightly embarrassing to confess to him.

"I-I actually was not planning on doing that, I kind of slipped and just managed to fire when I saw it jumping on top of me" she finished still laid back on the ground and with a red tone on her cheeks.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then simply closed it; chuckled at her and shaking his head went towards her and offered her his hand.

"Thanks you brave man, you saved my life. If I had anything more than this rags it would be yours" the man thanked him.

"I still have you, Hendar" the woman told him with a huge smile on her face. "C'mon, let's go back home and rest, you must be so tired."

Slowly, they got up and started to walk back to the village. The woman turned around and mouthed "Thank you" to them.

Carth turned around and started walking a little deeper into the outside of the city. Aspyre followed him and after a few minutes they heard fast tiny footsteps heading towards them and soon they saw a little blue Twi'lek moving towards them.

"Help, help me! Help me please! Nobody will help me, not even the Beks will help me! But you'll help me right? Please help me!" she cried as she got closer and fell on Aspyre's feet, she quickly grabbed her legs and started mouthing and sobbing "Help me, help me; please I need your help."

"Mission, what's wrong? I'll help you but please calm down, you're making me nervous. Calm down and tell us what happened?" Aspyre told the girl as she knelt down next to the girl.

Carth nervously looked around, wondering if her blabbering had brought any more monsters towards them, but nothing moved, nothing tried to eat them, so he returned his attention to the two girls hugging each other in the ground. A few days ago he would have been surprised to see Aspyre hugging a person she had met only once, but by now, everything was game.

"-we'll help you don't worry, we'll get him back" she grabbed the Twi'lek's head and soothingly stroked her lekku trying to calm her down. After a few minutes, Carth cleared his throat and both girls looked at him.

"This is no place to be crying in the ground kid, if you want to save your friend, then we should get going" he stated to both of them. After receiving a nod from each of them he asked the Twi'lek. "Listen, we're gonna help you get your friend back, but we need something from you. We need help rescuing our friend, and to do that, we need to get in the Black Vulkar's base, can you help us?"

"No problem, we get Zaalbar back and I'll get you in that scum den" she acknowledged to him.

00

Bastila felt for the sixth time that day, or seventh, she wasn't sure, that neural band didn't let her think straight, a man's hands all over her body, groping her and touching her. Had she been able to shiver, she would have. She tried to remember his touch, to make sure she would get her revenge on him and cut of his hands when she managed to get free. She felt as tears managed to get past her closed eyes and started to flow down her neck. This didn't seem to bother the man, and he only opened her legs and ignored her pain.

"There is no emotion…" she tried thinking, but the band, and the male's throbbing member didn't let her get past it as it ripped her insides apart for the seventh time… or sixth. The thoughts of revenge and escape were replaced by a single one.

"Help"

00

The smell of decay, waste and rotten flesh filled Aspyre's nose. She had tried to close her nostrils and breathe through her mouth but it didn't help as much as she now tasted the horrible smell. Mission did not even flinched when they had entered the sewers and Aspyre wondered if the smell had burned her nostrils or she just was a stronger girl than her. After a few encounters with a pair of Gamorreans, they arrived in the center of the sewers and saw four Gamorreans that turned around as soon as the door opened.

"Wait please, we don't want to fight!" she lifted her hands and tried to reason with them, like she had with the first four Gamorreans, but received the same result.

"Oh safe it Aspyre, these animals are so stupid they won't listen to reason!" Mission said and lifted her blaster, she shot twice and hit one of them on the head and throat. Muttering under her breath, Aspyre knelt down and lifted her Sith blaster rifle and pressed the trigger, barely aiming and simply letting all hell loose on them. Carth was going to open fire, but Aspyre's volley had utterly devastated them and had left blaster burns all over the walls. She however, had not noticed that they were dead and kept firing until she felt Mission's hand on her shoulder a few seconds later. She flinched slightly at the touch, but removed her finger from the trigger. She looked up at her but sharply looked down and shookher hand as she felt the barrel of the rifle overheating. Mission walked in the center of the room and turned to one of the door, looking at it curiously.

"Mmm, this is a very rare security lock. It's one of those old locks without any type of electrical system. It merely works by pressing a bar against the door, so you can't open the door because the bar's in the way." She explained to them. "Here is the only place you will see these locks. Don't worry I know how to open them." After a few seconds the lock fell down and Mission gestured to Carth to help her. Carth grabbed the left side of the door while Mission and Aspyre grabbed the right. They started pulling the door and very slowly it started to move. After a few seconds two paws got on each side of the door and with a very violent push opened the door completely, the ancient door crashed against the railings and fell down, almost crushing them, but they managed to huddle together to avoid being crushed by the heavy doors. Zaalbar looked down at them and realized that they didn't look like the Gamorreans that captured him. After a few second he saw a small blue ball huddled between two larger figures, and the ball looked at him, stood up and ran to him.

"Big Z! Big Z!" Mission yelled as she ran towards the wookie and jumped up and hugged him. Zaalbar hugged her back and happily roared at her.

"Mission, you're a sight for sore eyes. I can't believe you're here, I thought I was doomed to a life of slavery."

"No Big Z, I would never leave you like that" she replied with tears of happiness in her eyes.

Zaalbar opened his eyes and saw the two other humans that were with Mission.

"Who are they?" he growled at her.

"They're my new friends Big Z; I would have never been able to save you without their help. She's Aspyre and that's Carth, her companion" she explained to him, drying her tears on the back of her sleeve.

"I'm glad to have been able to help you Zaalbar, and I'm sorry for not being able to get here sooner. Aspyre Venar, at your service" she said with a polite bow to him.

"You have saved me from a life of certain slavery, Aspyre Venar… You took a large risk by coming here into the sewers and find me. I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart... There is only one way that I can't truly repay this to you. I wish to swear a life debt to you."

Both Mission's and Aspyre's eyes widened at his response. Carth, not knowing what was happening merely felt like he should just wait to see what would ensue.

"A-a Life Debt?" she stammered.

"You understand my language? That's very impressive for one of your kind. I won't have to ask Mission to translate for me" He roared at her with obvious respect. He knelt down and came face to face with Aspyre. She felt him grab her hand and hold it firmly in his paw. "In front of these witnesses, I swear to you, Aspyre Venar my life debt. May my oath be as firm and strong as the powerful roots of the Ancient Wooshir trees in Kashyyyk. I will follow you and protect you with my own life and should the day come, I will gladly lay down my own life for yours."

For a few moments she stood very still and quietly wondered what she should say. She finally settled on a few words to try to express her feelings and thank him.

"It is truly an honor for me to accept this debt and I wish to thank you, mighty Zaalbar" she said with a smile on her face.

She saw Zaalbar do the wookie equivalent of a blush when she called him "mighty", but he stood up and his face was as straight as usual. After the initial shock had passed, Mission seemed to realize what had happened.

"Well, it looks that you're stuck with me as well. I almost lost Big Z once and I'm not going to lose him again" she told her.

"It's good to have you on board, Mission."

Mission smiled and did a mock military salute before grinning at her and regaining her composure.

"Ok then, I think it's time we go and make that deal good. You helped rescue my friend so now I'm gonna help you rescue yours. Let's not waste any more time here, the entrance to the Black Vulkars base is northeast from here."

Aspyre and Carth nodded and they started to head towards northeast. Mission happily speaking with Zaalbar at a speed that made Carth felt sorry for the poor Wookie. He looked at Aspyre and saw her with that confused look in her face that he had not seen since yesterday, it was probably the longest amount of time the girl went by without being confused.

"What's on your mind, beautiful?" he asked her with a grin on his face.

She turned bright red again and looked at him for half a second before lowering her gaze to the ground and start muttering under her breath with a tiny smile on her face. Carth smiled and patiently waited for her to return to normal. After a few minutes her color changed a little and she managed to get her lips working again.

"It's Zaalbar, I feel like I rescued him only for the reward and I don't want him to think that. And I'm hoping that we don't run into any more trouble, because you know a life debt means he has to go where I go and protect me until I die but I don't want to put him in danger you know, because then why would I have rescued him only to put him in danger I don't want him to think that." She said in a speed that matched Mission's mach five speaking voice.

"I don't think he thinks that, he knows that you saved him and he simply wants to repay you. You have to understand that for Wookies honor is very important and being a slave is the greatest loss of honor that there is. You saved him from that and because of that, he wants to repay you. Just relax and don't think about it. I know you start to wonder when you have that look in your face so just wipe it off and focus on finding Bastila, okay beautiful?"

She got red again and looked at the ground and just nodded at him. He smiled and kept walking. Carth imagined what they would look like from afar. A human pilot wearing a bright orange jacket that was visible from a mile away, a small human girl wearing a bright glowing crimson mask of embarrassment on her face, a blue twi'lek girl that talked like her life depended on it, and a huge wookie that somehow managed to maintain his sanity while listening to the blue chatterbox. He tried really hard not to laugh at the thought, only a small chuckle escaped his lips.

00

Bastila was tired. She was so very tired, she hadn't moved in who knew how long, her back and legs were so sore she could no longer even feel them. They had removed her neural band a few hours ago to place a new one when they had realized that she was starting to move around. She had tried to get up but felt a sharp pain on her wrists and realized she was shackled to the bed. In her desperation she tried to struggle, but after a few more shocks were sent to her wrists, she gave up and started crying again. When was the last time she had felt so helpless? She really could not remember. She turned her tear-filled eyes when she heard the door open and she felt even worse when she saw a human man walking towards her with her new neural band, she tried to fight him, she really tried, but she was shackled, and there was only so much she could do. She felt as her breath was taken away from her again, she felt as if she was buried alive and couldn't do anything to prevent it.

Before she had a chance to think she felt the man slapping her face and her breasts, adding to the sting and burning sensation that her body was now getting used to. A small drop of blood entered her open mouth, but she couldn't taste it.

00

"-lecture? Here's a lecture, only bratty little kids go so nuts over a simple comment!" Carth snapped at Mission.

"I don't need this from you Carth; you're not my father, even though you're old enough to be!" the tiny blue Twi'lek yelled at him, complete ignoring the rest of the world.

Aspyre stood still, unsure of what to do, she was debating to either shut them both up, or make them make amends, or simply beg for any Vulkars near them to be deaf. She chose the latter and closed her eyes, trying really hard to listen to anything else other than the verbal fight going on next to her. Thankfully, the warehouse they were in was a long way from the main hallway so maybe, just maybe the screams wouldn't reach anybody. She crouched next to Zaalbar who was patiently waiting for Mission and Carth to shut up and waited along with him.


	4. A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Chapter 4

Gadon was calmly going over a few reports from the base. Medical supplies were running a little low, but aside from that, there was nothing to worry about for today. He would send somebody to the upper city to pick up medical supplies from Zelka's treatment center, those were the cheapest. And with his new Sith uniforms it would be no problem for his people to get past those damn Sith. He heard the door open and he saw Mission Vao, her wookie friend, and the two others that came before.

"Damn, what were their names? Aspyra? No wait, Aspyre, yeah, Aspyre and Carth" he thought to himself.

They came closer and Carth placed the prototype engine in his desk. Gadon called a mechanic and ordered for it to be installed immediately on the swoop bike. Mission was her usual cheerful self and he did the best he could to keep up with what she was saying.

"We held our end of the bargain" interrupted Carth.

Mission threw him a dirty look, but he ignored it.

"Of course, now it's time for me to hold my end" he responded to him. Gadon looked over to the human girl who usually did the talking and found her looking at the ground with a sad look in her face. "Is she ok?"

Carth hesitated for a second before opening his mouth.

"We were trapped when we found the engine; we had to shoot our way out. One of the Vulkars surrendered but she fired before she could stop herself... She's been beating herself up ever since" he said in a quite tone, hoping she wouldn't hear.

Gadon stood listen for a moment and nodded. He didn't mind a dead Vulkar, but he had seen the look on the girl's face before, she was a kind heart, and one of the few left. He knew this must be very difficult for her.

"I have arranged living quarters for all of you; the tournament is in a week, which gives you enough time to practice. Have you ever ridden a swoop before?" he asked the girl with the kindest look he could muster.

"I was the champion of the Deralia track" she replied softly.

Gadon smiled. The girl was a champion, sure he had never heard of that planet which meant she could be making it up, but if it was true, then they were in luck, luck they desperately needed. He mentioned to Zaedra to take them to their rooms and after looking at Gadon with an "I'm-not-some-tourist-guide" look, she lead the way to the rooms.

00

The next week passed by in a blur. Aspyre spent most of the time on swoop bikes. She would race about five times a day, most of the time making impressive records. She broke the Taris national record by two seconds and only one time she came close to crashing. She was accelerating too fast and tried to get on top of the speed pad and managed to get there partially. The result was a rather unstable bump to the right side of the swoop that caused it to spin counter-clockwise. Aspyre held on for dear life, but managed to accelerate just at the right moment to regain some control of the swoop. She crashed against the wall and almost fell down, but with a sudden kick of speed, she went flying back to the fray and managed to finish the track, even though she was behind her best time by ten seconds. There was one thing that still bothered her, and very much. Gadon had told her that the swoop would be unstable once they installed the prototype engine and it would be very likely it would explode after four or five races. So far she had managed to get the best time in her first race every morning, but still it doesn't really take the edge away.

She had tried to speak to Carth several times during the week, but the only time that they spoke he was rather serious with her and only had spoken briefly, he had been scouting for a good position on the swoop track. Her spirits lifted when she thought he would be there rooting for her, but to her dismay, he chose one of the worst seats, front row in the very beginning, those were the ones that saw the beginning of the race, and nothing more. When she tried to tell him that the middle seats where better, he protested saying he could keep an eye on the other racers and he would also have a clear view of the prizes, which meant Bastila.

Aspyre went to her room on the sixth day and took off her clothes. She stepped on the fresher and took a warm shower. She slowly began to feel her aching muscles relax, she felt as her hair got wet and glued itself to her back all the way to her thighs, she took special care of her hair and it took her about half an hour to wash it completely and make sure that there was nothing between her strands of gold and white. She rubbed her entire body with soap, something the apartment in Taris had been missing ever since she woke up and she could not by happier to see it again. She rinsed herself, grabbed a towel and wrapped herself with it, no longer feeling as tired as she did when she entered. She stepped out of the fresher and dropped the towel on the floor. She started putting on her underwear and was halfway done, when she heard the door to her room open. She felt her face go crimson red but thankfully her back was to the door and she managed to clumsily put her tank top on before turning to the door, praying with all her might that it was Mission who was there coming to wish her luck and not him, please, please not him, she had enough embarrassment with him already and he was her commanding officer!

Her face dropped when she saw none other than, of course, Carth Onasi at the door. It was quite clearly, too much to ask for a single encounter with the man in which she wasn't completely embarrassed and humiliated. He stood at the door, his eyebrows raised, looking directly at her. For a second the silence lingered in the air like it had become solid matter and she heard her heartbeat louder than anything else. He simply gazed at her, even though she was visibly uncomfortable with him there; he tried to speak but had to clear his mind of what he had seen only a few moment ago.

"I-I just wanted to wish you good luck tomorrow at the track" he told her. She nodded at him and murmured thanks, thinking that what she needed was some proper motivation he continued. "And you better come back in one piece soldier, when you're done playing in the track we have some actual work to do."

She looked at him and after a brief moment of hesitation she smiled and nodded at him.

"Yes sir!" she said in a formal tone.

Carth smiled at her and went back to his room, fighting back images as they jumped to his mind. He had been impressed by the natural beauty of her body, but that was nothing new, what had amazed him was the large scar in her stomach that started under her left breast and ended on her upper left thigh, exactly where her dress had ended, he recalled. Shaking his head he made his way to room and decided he needed a good night sleep.

00

Aspyre tried to go to sleep; she tossed and turned for a few hours but to no avail, sleep was just eluding her tonight. She put on a pair of pants and a jacket and made her way outside her room to the main area of the base. It was unusually quiet, there were only a few Beks walking around and they seemed pretty busy so she left them alone. She went to the garage to check out the swoop bike one more time; she would feel safer if she at least checked it herself.

She descended to the garage and found it completely empty. For a second she wondered where all the Beks were and a small pun came to her mind. They were hidden. She giggled at her own joke and resolved to tell it to Mission tomorrow after she won the race. She found the swoop and started to check the engine, trying to not make much noise. After a few hours she decided she had done her best to fix any little kinks she had found and the swoop was as ready as it would be. She turned around and saw a small window. Curiosity got the best of her and she approached it, standing on her toes to get a better view. She saw that the window allowed her a great view of the under city and she could see the northern part of the city all the way to the entrance of the sewers. She noticed a dozen or so Rackghouls were running around and silently hoped that everybody was safe inside. She was about to leave when something caught her eye. A man was standing in the middle of the clearing, waiting for the Rackghouls to come to him. She gasped when she recognized him, it was him! It had to be, nobody could carry a blaster rifle that huge and pretend to know how to use it. It had to be the Mandalorian!

She saw him lift his rifle and waited a few more seconds until the Rackghouls came into his field of vision, he opened fire on them and very soon almost all of them were dead. She saw him put away his blaster rifle and pull out a vibroknife. He waited for the remaining two Rackghouls to come closer to him and as one of them leaped; he ducked under it and knifed it in the stomach, ripping it apart as it flew on top of him. The second Rackghoul charged at him and with amazing speed, the Mandalorian turned and grabbed it by its head before it had a chance to bite him, Aspyre watched as he turned and with full momentum, smashed the beast's skull against the ground. She was sure that had she been able to hear, she would have heard the Rackghoul whimper before it died. The Mandalorian, Canderous, she remembered, stood up and looking around him to check for any more beasts, grabbed his rifle and took off, unknowingly being watched by a new secret admirer.

Aspyre saw him leaving her sight and felt a new sensation in her chest. He had been so fast, so precise, so… beautiful? She recalled his movements, he fired ten bolts, all of them hitting their targets; he dropped his rifle and pulled out his knife and quickly gutted one of the beasts, he turned around and smashed the last one against the ground. He had moved precisely, all of his moves planned ahead and it had seemed like it had been one single movement, from the lifting of his rifle to the smashing of the beast, it had been simply perfect. Aspyre left the garage, still remembering the beautiful Mandalorian dance of death she had seen. She went to her bed and with the memory fresh in her mind, drifted to sleep.

00

"_The council cannot ignore your transgression" master Vrook said severely._

"_You both know very well that passion will lead you to take the path of the dark side, it is inevitable" stated master Zhar in his native tongue._

"_it is important that you learn from this mistake, young padawans and never repeat it, you may have escaped the clutches of the dark side this time by the timely arrival of master Dorak, but we must make sure the temptation is never present again" master Vandar said slowly._

"_The council has decided… that it is best to transfer Alek to the Jedi Academy of Coruscant and finish his training there" finished master Dorak, a hurt look in his eyes._

_Revan felt her knees buckle, she felt the hard ground as it slammed against her legs and she felt Alek's hand lifting her from the ground and holding her up. She could not believe, why were they so blind? Why couldn't they see? They couldn't take Alek away from her; she would not ALLOW them to take him away from her. The five men in the room felt her anger as it began to rise and spread across the entire chamber. She felt as the anger grew inside of her and she felt like she was about to burst. It crawled across the room, contaminating everything, consuming everything, tendrils of hatred and anger ran amok, but not directed at the masters specifically, but at the situation, and a little at herself. Then Alek did the only thing that he knew would calm her. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards him, and kissed her._

_The pair felt the indignation of the council as soon as they're lips pressed together but then they sensed something else. Revan's anger, her frustration and fear of losing him, all disappeared completely. They did not hide beneath a curtain of calmness, they did not disguise themselves away from view, they vanished, they utterly and completely banished. The members of the council stood in silent awe as they watched what was taking place in front of them. Revan's aura achieved what only those who spend entire days meditating managed. Revan's aura was at peace, true, utter and total peace._

_He separated her from him and saw the smile she had in her face, he smiled in return and placed his hand on her waist as she turned to the council. She spoke in a firm voice, no longer begging for forgiveness and mercy, but rather speaking to them, discussing to them._

"_Masters of the Jedi enclave of Dantooine" she addressed respectfully. "I ask that you see reason, passion leads to the dark side, I will not discuss that, but there is nothing in the Jedi Code that speaks of love as forbidden, it is encouraged! Truly you can sense how I feel right now. I feel so calm, so complete and more at peace than I have ever been, even after long hours of meditation. Do you not see? Alek makes me whole, he is the one that completes me, makes me want to wake up in the morning and tackle a new day. I ask of you to simply see reason, our love causes no harm, would you deny us that simply because of what the code says? Would you throw our love away without even analyzing it, studying it, learning from it? Please, I am not asking for you to forgive us immediately, I only ask you to do what you would with any other problem, discuss it and see what the right solution is. I know that in your wisdom you will see that I am right. I do not speak out of pride masters, I speak out of experience. Surely at least one of you must have been in love at some point. Surely at least one of you must know how we feel?"_

_The masters of the enclave were silent for a moment until Master Vandar spoke._

"_We will think of what you have said Padawan; we will summon you when we have reached a verdict"_

_Revan and Alek bowed and made their way to the center of the Enclave. They sat down on the grass and Revan leaned on Alek while they waited for the council decision. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him and hugged her. They drew many looks, both of confusion and some others of a more, judgmental nature, but they could not care less._

"_If… if the council decides to send you to Coruscant, them I will quit the order" Revan said firmly._

"_Don't worry love, they will see reason. They must see it, our judgment is not clouded, our emotions are not unbuckled, and our love has no taint. They will see reason" Alek responded to her, though inwardly he was reassuring himself. They remained quiet, waiting for the council's response. It took hours, but finally a young Padawan walked over to them and tapping Revan's shoulder, told them the council was expecting them._

"_The council has decided that you are right, Padawan Revan. We have come to the conclusion that what you spoke is true. Your relationship does not seem to rely on the passions that we thought. We see it know, you two radiate auras of peace, you seem to be each other's support and you might just be what prevents each other from reaching your respective shatter points" master Dorak explained with a smile on his face._

_Revan could hardly believe her ears, a smile spread across her face and she turned to Alek, who had an equally bright smile on his._

"_However" Master Vrook added and they both spun around to face him "If we see that this relationship of yours is slowing either of your training, we well go back to our original decision."_

_Both of them hastily nodded to him._

_"We will not disappoint you master Vrook, that I swear" Alek stated._

_"We swear, we will become Jedi, and you will be proud of us. We will not falter, we will not fail Masters. And I wish to thank you for giving us this chance, you won't regret it" Revan said, hardly being able to contain her gratefulness towards the masters._

_Dorak nodded at them and they took their leave. They were hardly out of the enclave when Revan jumped on top of Alek and they both fell to the ground laughing and barely able to contain their happiness. They rolled down the tiny hill and she ended on top of him, she met his beautiful eyes and slowly drew her face closer to his._

_"Thank you, my love" she whispered to him._

_"What for?" he asked, only slightly confused._

_"From helping me find the words" she said and kissed him._

00

Aspyre opened her eyes and for the first time since she arrived on Taris she felt relaxed, she felt calm, she felt at peace. She had another dream last night, but her memory failed her, she only remembered bits of it. Any other time she would have tried to find out what she had dreamt, but today she just felt so peaceful that she couldn't care less. She got up and felt as if her body was brand new, none of her bruises were there and she felt no discomfort as she stretched her legs. She untied her hair in the rather huge bun that she tied it in when she slept. Even her hair showed none of her usual stubbornness and it simply fell down towards the ground, perfect lines from her skull to her thigh. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw a fresh person looking back at her. Even her scar no longer bothered her. She felt full of energy, ready to tackle the day, as if she had found a purpose in life that refilled her energy reserves. A huge smile was drawn on her face and even the prospect of racing on top of a suicidal time bomb at speeds of 800 mph could do nothing to hinder her happiness.

"When was the last time" she said to herself "that I felt, no scratch that; that I _was _so happy?"

Aspyre opened the door and went to the main room. Gadon was already there, looking over some papers like he usually did. Zaedra was next to him, forever vigilant. She saw Aspyre coming to them and her hand instinctively went to her blaster. Aspyre rolled her eyes and simply approached Gadon.

"Hey" she said with a bright smile on her face.

Gadon looked up from his stack of papers and checked the girl talking to him. She looked so different from yesterday, what was it, her hair was the same; her riding outfit was the same she wore the entire week. And then he saw it, it was her face, her eyes were no longer red, she was smiling from ear to ear, and she looked like she had a glow inside of her, trying to get out.

"Well, somebody's excited today" he said with a smile on his face.

She smiled even more at him and he felt as if a ray of light escaped from her mouth. He nodded with a smile on his face, the result of the contagious nature of her own, and gestured her towards the main exit. They walked to the race track and to her surprise; she saw that Carth, Mission and Zaalbar were already in their seats, she smiled at them and Carth nodded at her, Mission started screaming and cheering her and Zaalbar roared something about being careful. She approached her Ithorian mechanic and they started going over the swoop, she told him she had tightened some screws last night and how she had fixed some kinks she had found but nothing mayor. The Ithorian told her that her bike was ready and that with all the repairs they had done, the stability would not be a problem, although his neck seemed to compress a little around the sides as he said it. Clearly he was not a very good liar. She thanked him and went to get ready for her heat.

As she passed the lobby, she saw a woman in a cage, wearing a backless skintight suit that barely covered her chest and left her legs exposed. Aspyre saw a band on her head that seemed to send some kind of pulse to her. She seemed disoriented and could barely hold herself standing up, her legs were red and had hand marks and Aspyre assumed she had been smacked multiple times. Her neck and chest showed some bruises and when she got a better look, she was able to see teeth marks on the top of breasts, her legs and even her cheek. She felt sorry for her and went to see if she could help her but a pair of Black Vulkars stood in her way, using their double bladed vibroblades to stop her.

"Stay away from the prize, human!" One of them barked at her.

She took a step back and silently obliged. The sudden realization hit her of who she was. Prize. She was the republic officer they took prisoner. She was the Jedi they were looking for. She was Bastila. As Aspyre was walking away, Bastila managed to lift her head and look in front of her, straight at her, but her eyes looked dead, despite being having a beautiful light brown color, they looked dull, lifeless, even pale. They remained in place for a long time, Aspyre staring at Bastila and Bastila staring through Aspyre, her eyes focused on a galaxy far, far away. After an eternity, she finally lowered her head and slumped forward, her bonds holding her up for display like a piece of meat.

00

After a few minutes she found herself sitting in her bike and waiting for the green light. She saw the red light turn off and the yellow light turn on. She felt a bead of sweat run down her neck and chest and she felt the rush of adrenaline as her body and mind prepared for what was coming. Time slowed to a crawl and she swore a few minutes passed between the yellow and green light. The green light turned on and she kicked off the safety and pressed the accelerator. She felt as the sudden acceleration pushed her back and she grabbed the handles even tighter, she saw the first speed pad to her left and eased into it, it was crucial to get the first pads perfectly or the swoop's stability would be compromised and it would lower her overall time. She felt another burst of speed take the swoop to as fast as it would go and she switched gears. The noise coming from the engine grew even louder as she entered second gear and went for the next pad. She kept progressively getting faster, the world was turning into a blur, she had no idea how many seconds had passed since she first started. Another burst of velocity sent her to the sixth gear and she felt as the bike started to protest and groan. She saw it, a few more meters; just a few and she would reach it, the gorgeous red paint that indicated the end of the race. She passed the finish line and pressed the brakes as soon as she felt it was safe to slow down.

She jumped from the swoop and checked out her time hoping it was similar to the ones she had done before. Her heart jumped to her throat when she saw the time. It was less than what she had done at the track, it was even better than her time in Deralia! She jumped up and down with joy when she saw how good she had been.

18:03. Carth stared at the time on the screen. He could hardly believe it, she had sped like there was no tomorrow, she passed on top of every single speed pad and had not even come closer to touching one of the piles of debris that was on the field. He heard Mission screaming at Aspyre, cheering her and soon found himself whistling and cheering her as she returned to the racer's lobby.

She was skipping happily back to the Ithorian and had he had a frontal mouth he would have been grinning at her. He ran to her and hugged her and lifted her to the sky.

"You did it! That was amazing; nobody is going to beat the time! Never ever, this record will last forever!" He happily told her while he spun her around. She was laughing happily and hugged him back. After a few more seconds of euphoria she ran to her friends and shared the news. Now all she had to do was wait for her to be declared the victor. Sure enough, many racers tried, but none of them managed to beat her. The one that got closest was a member of the Black Vulkars who managed to get a 21:01 track record.

"That's the last one" she said as she saw the last rider leaving the track, a look of murder directed at her. She turned to the front of the lobby as she heard her name being called by the Duros in charge of the inscription.

"And the winner of this year's tournament, riding for the Hidden Beks" he announced "Aspyre Venar!"

She felt her face redden slightly and she walked towards him. She stopped in front of him and he handed her the prizes. He handed her a suit of light cortosis-weaved armor, a true treasure in this planet and 3000 credits. She bowed to him and thanked him.

"And now, to present this year's especial prize, leader of the Black Vulkars, Brejick!"

"People of Taris, before I present you with your so called "Champion" I have a revelation to make. The Hidden Beks used a modified swoop to win this race, clearly giving her an unfair advantage; because of this I am withdrawing my share of the prize!" he stated to the shocked audience.

Aspyre felt her face redden with the shame of the realization. How had she not seen it before? It was true, she realized, she had cheated. She didn't deserve to free Bastila, she didn't deserve her armor and she did not deserve her credits. She respectfully handed the armor and the credits back to the Duros and bowed to him, apologizing to him and Brejick. The Duros however handed it right back at her and turned to Brejick.

"You cannot do this, Brejick! Removing a prize goes against our most ancient traditions!" he replied to him.

"You fool! Your rules mean nothing to me. I am the future, if I want to sell this woman in the slave market, there is nothing you can do to stop me!" he yelled at him.

"I may have something to say about that, Brejick" a very firm and angry voice spoke out.

They all turned around when they heard the voice coming from the prisoner's cage. The woman had freed herself and was standing in front of a dead guard, her foot in his throat and his double vibroblade in her hands.

"What? You were under a neural band restraint! How did you-?" he started.

"You underestimated a Jedi's mind, Brejick" she stated. And her voice suddenly turned icy cold. "A mistake you will not live to regret."

Aspyre elbowed the guard next to her, she grabbed his vibroblade and with a quick somersault she landed next to Bastila and got in a defensive stance. Carth jumped from the seats and he pulled out his blasters, Mission next to him with her blaster drawn. Zaalbar jumped and landed on top of a Vulkar, crushing his neck in the process. They entered a defensive stance and waited to see what happened, although they all had a vague idea of what was going to occur.

"Vulkars to me! Kill the Jedi! Kill the racer! Kill them all!" Brejick ordered.

And then all hell broke loose.


	5. Strangers in a Strange Land

Chapter 5

Bastila saw how the woman flipped back towards her and placed her back against hers, slightly surprised, she resolved to be mindful of her but kept her focus on the fight. They raised their swords and waited for the Vulkars to make the first move. She saw how a wookie jumped on top of one and crushed his head on the ground, making a few of the more squeamish spectators throw up and run away in fear.

"Vulkars to me! Kill the Jedi! Kill the racer! Kill them all!"

She saw a few of them racing towards them on command and readied her sword, she saw the woman next to her ready in a similar stance to hers, not mimicking her, but rather filling in the gaps on her defense. The Vulkar lifted his sword and she pulled her blade up to block it and she saw the woman slicing the Vulkar on the stomach. She turned left and blocked another blade heading for them. She disarmed the man and pushed her sword in his face splattering blood all over her bruised chest and face. To her right, the woman was parrying and blocking four Vulkars at the same time. For a second she wondered why there were so little of them and she soon found the answer. The wookie was furiously punching, crushing and simply destroying everything in his path.

Aspyre managed to block the four strikes headed for her. While she was holding them in place, Carth opened fire on the backs of the aliens and soon the four of them were crumpled before they had a chance to push her to the ground. After a few seconds, there were no more Vulkars left alive and they watched Bastila heading towards Brejick who, despite the fact that he was trembling, pulled out his vibroblade. The two clashed swords and Aspyre immediately saw that it was Bastila who was in control, she attacked and parried, cutting him in his arms and legs, after only a few seconds, Brejick fell down and Bastila placed her blade at his throat. She had such blazing fury in her eyes that it seemed it was burning her from the inside. She lifted her sword and furiously stabbed him in the leg.

Brejick's scream must have been heard all the way in the upper city. Bastila watched him squirm under her and felt immense pleasure at hearing him shriek. She wanted more; she wanted to make him suffer as much as he made her suffer and Jedi Code be damned. She kicked him in the face and blood spilled from his mouth, staining the floor and her high heels. She drew her blade and sliced again, cutting off his leg. Brejick screamed again and was blabbering to her, pleading for mercy, begging her to stop. Bastila lifted her blade again and was about to drive it between his legs when she heard a voice calling out to her.

"Stop!"

Bastila turned her head and saw the woman who was fighting with her. Her eyes were filled with tears, even if she couldn't register her face right now. She turned her sight to her companions and saw the wookie, a small blue Twi'lek and a man wearing an orange jacket. To her surprise she recognized the man as Carth Onasi, the Republic pilot that was the adviser in her ship, the Endar Spire. She hesitated for a second before turning her gaze to Brejick. He winced at her sight, but had lost so much blood he could no longer move, he had only a few minutes left. She started to lift her blade again but heard the same voice crying out to her again.

"Please don't kill him!" the shaky voice pleaded.

Bastila looked at the girl again and saw that she was a few steps closer, tears falling down on the floor and a medpac in her hand. She slowly withdrew her blade and was still for a few second while the girl came running to her, medpac in hand and ready to use. She was about to tell her she was fine when she saw her kneeling down and injecting Brejick with the it. Her eyes widened and she stayed very still as she saw the girl checking his pulse and quickly ripping off her sleeve and tying it very hard on Brejick's leg. He seemed to say something to her, but she was too busy healing him to pay attention. Carth came over to her and grabbed her arm; she winced at his touch but relaxed as he led her slightly away from the pair.

"What is she doing,?" Bastila questioned him.

"Let her finish, we can leave when she's done. She's just going to make sure he hangs on until somebody can come help him."

"I won't let her do that" she said and turned towards her. Carth wondered for a moment if he had heard correctly. "Step away from him" she ordered the girl. Aspyre turned her head to look at her, pushing her very long hair out of the way. Bastila held her breath when she realized who it was. She watched her face, her sharp feminine features, her bright blue eyes, her red full lips, her strong, yet delicate neck, and the tiny mark on her neck where she had been sliced by a vibroblade. Bastila did her best to recover from the initial shock and recovered her composure. "Step away from him, I have to finish the job" she said, with ice on her voice.

The girl looked at him and turned to her with tears still in her eyes. She shook her head and stood up, looking her straight in her eyes.

"Please don't kill him, Bastila" she pleaded her.

"You have no idea what this man did to me, I will never forgive him... Now step aside or I'll make you."

"No" she said, shaking her head "I don't know what he did to you but everybody deserves a second chance. Please give him that."

"This man captured me; he treated me like an object. He-" Her voice broke and she did her best to continue despite herself "he _used _me! He raped me and had me for his fun for who knows how long! He turned me into a piece of meat! He and his friends made me suffer like I have never suffered in my life! I cannot forgive him for the Hell he has put me through!"

The girl's face was drained of color and she did something Bastila did not see coming. She hugged her. She hugged her tightly and pressed her face against Bastila's shoulder. Bastila tried not to cry, she tried to calm down and regain her unclouded judgment but she couldn't, she wanted to push the girl away and drive her blade in Brejick's neck, but she couldn't. She wanted to do so many things, many of them contradictory, but she couldn't do anything. She felt as if her pain began to liquefy and started pouring out of her eyes. Her tears fell on top of Aspyre's head but she didn't look up, she just hugged her tighter and was whispering all kinds of soothing words to her while she began to sob. After a few minutes, Bastila separated herself from her and softly thanked her, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. The girl smiled at her and she turned her face to Brejick who was still on the floor, but no longer in critical state.

"Do not think you have escaped justice Brejick. You will pay for your crimes, be certain of that" Bastila said to him before walking away.

Carth, Mission and Zaalbar watched stupefied as a teary Aspyre lead a teary Bastila to them and told them it would be best if they left. They turned around and hastily headed back to their apartment on the upper city. After they settled in, Bastila excused herself and went to the fresher, Aspyre sat down on the bed, Carth opened the door to the balcony and went outside, and Mission sat down at the table and began to play Pazaak with Zaalbar. After a few minutes Bastila came out the door, her hair tied down in pigtails. She was still wearing his skintight outfit and awkwardly asked Aspyre if she had any spare clothing. She rummaged through her bag. She found an extra pair of pants and some boots and Carth lent her his orange jacket.

Bastila thanked them both and entered the fresher again. She came about a minute later, wearing her new boots and pants over her extremely revealing outfit but had Carth's jacket in her hand. She handed it back to him and thanked him for the gesture, saying it wasn't necessary. They gathered at the table and began discussing their plans for getting off Taris, or rather, their lack of one.

"What do you mean you don't have one? What have you been doing all this time?" she asked, more than a little annoyed.

"Well, we wanted to make sure you were safe; that was our number one priority" replied Carth.

"I was planning something, but Carth said we had to find you first" Aspyre mumbled softly, barely audible.

"I can't believe this, you're supposed to be Republic soldiers, you're supposed to be prepared for everything...Very well, now that I am in charge of this mission, maybe we can start doing things the right way" she said with a strong air of self rightness and superiority that made Carth very annoyed, Aspyre noticed.

"Look Bastila, maybe you may have a very special gift that helps win battles, but you are not a good leader! A good leader doesn't snap at their soldiers because things aren't going their way!" Carth harshly reproached her. "A good leader would at least listen to those that have seen more combat than she ever will!"

Bastila opened her mouth in shock, about to protest in indignation, but when she heard his words and saw the worried look the others had, she closed it again and did her best to calm down.

"You're right Carth, I'm sorry. What do you suggest?"

"First of all, we can't get hung up on who's in charge, we need to work together, the answer's out there, we just need to find it."

"Well said Carth, I was already a prisoner of the Vulkars and I do not wish to repeat it with the Sith."

Aspyre got up and placed a hand on Bastila's shoulder and squeezed her lightly. She turned around and smiled at her.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything else happen to you" she reassured her with a bright smile.

Bastila nodded at her and turned her attention back to the rest of her companions.

"It would be best if we gathered information about the planet and try to find some way out of here. We should try looking for a lone Sith or somebody that can tell us what they're planning." She offered to everyone. They all nodded and they prepared to leave.

"Mission, could you and Zaalbar go and try to rake us some credits?" Aspyre asked her.

"What for?"

"I think we might need them if we want to get off planet, being poor doesn't really open doors for you" Aspyre explained with an unusual mature tone in her voice, something that neither Carth nor Bastila failed to notice.

"Sure no problem, let's go Big Z, we'll leave the escape plans to the brains, let's go play some Pazaak."

"That's you answer for everything isn't it?" Carth asked as he sat down on the table.

"And it's working!" Mission yelled back as she exited the apartment, followed by her silent companion.

Once they were gone Aspyre turned towards Bastila, who was looking at the vibroblade she had used before with disgust and suddenly remembered something. Rushing to her pack, she rummaged through it until she found what she had been given by the apologetic Brejick while she was patching him up. With a smile on her face, she tapped Bastila on the shoulder and when the Jedi turned to face her she gave her the long metallic tube she had in her hands.

"What? My lightsaber!" Bastila exclaimed in surprise as she carefully took it in her hands and looked it over, making sure it hadn't been scratched. "Where did you find it?"

"In the swoop track" she lied, when her brain told her it probably wasn't a good idea to tell her Brejick had given it to her.

"I can't believe it!" she answered as she hooked it to her belt and smiled for the first time since she had met her, a relaxed smile that made her brown eyes glow a little bit again, that softened her tense cheeks and mouth and made her seem more like a Jedi than before. "Thank you, Aspyre."

"My pleasure!" she truthfully told her as she gave her a quick hug and grabbed her own blade and blaster, leaving the Jedi deep in thought.

After giving Bastila a few more minutes to ready herself, Aspyre went outside the apartment, Carth and Bastila followed her, but their information hunt was interrupted by a green Twi'lek that approached and stopped them.

"Are you the human that won the swoop championship?" he asked her.

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"Canderous Ordo wants to meet you at the upper city cantina. I would be wise not to keep him waiting, Mandalorians are known for many things, but patience is not one of them" he told her with a warning look on his face. Her face light up the second she heard his name, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Bastila and Carth.

"Really, he does?" she hastily asked him, but after feeling her companion's glare in her back she added in her best I'm-not-really-interested tone, which wasn't really convincing "um, what does he want with me?"

The Twi'lek shrugged and simply turned and walked away.

"Well, looks like somebody is excited to see the mercenary again" Carth said, raising his eyebrows.

Aspyre turned red, but ignored him and started walking to the cantina, brushing her hair with her fingers and stopping in front of the door to check her reflection on it. Carth rolled his eyes and opened the door, stepping outside and leaving her mirror-less.

"Hey, that wasn't very nice" she said with a frown on her face.

It was Carth's turn to ignore her and he kept walking.

00

The same amount of smoke filled the air as they entered the cantina. Aspyre walked quickly through the smoke and quickly found the Mandalorian sitting in a table, looking directly at her. She caught his gaze and blushed when she realized he was looking at her, but turned around towards Bastila and Carth, and managed to calm herself down before she lost control of her blood flow. She turned around in the most seductive way she could muster, tossing her hair behind her and creating a wide arc of gold and white that flowed perfectly through the air, or rather smoke, and landed gracefully on her back.

Canderous raised an eyebrow when he saw the swoop champion walking towards him the same way he had seen Twi'lek dancers walk before, moving their hips just slightly what was necessary, with a bright smile on their faces and a glint in their eyes that usually meant they were after credits. But he saw no glint in her eyes, which was probably a good sign. She sat down at the table on the chair in front of him and stared into his eyes. He looked straight at her and waited for a few seconds, before making sure that there was no glint in her eyes. The last thing he needed right now was somebody double stabbing him in the back for money.

"A little green Twi'lek told me you were looking for me" she told him.

"Good, I was wondering if I was going to have to break his little legs for crossing me" he stated with a smirk.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. What do you need?"

"You probably heard of the Exchange, right? I work for a man named Davik Kang, he's a very big player in the Exchange. He offered me a fortune to work for him and I took it. I didn't have much to do at the time so I was interested" he explained to her as she crossed her legs and nodded at him, always with a large smile on her face. "But lately Davik hasn't being paying me what he promised me. I don't like getting crossed so I'm gonna take his ship, break the quarantine and get off this rock."

"And what do you need me for, sounds like you already got it figured it out" she asked him with a smile as she bit her finger softly.

"I saw you at the swoop race and I have to say, I was impressed. I figured anybody crazy enough to race like that, and not to mention fightlike that" he said smirking at her "is crazy enough to get into the Sith base and hack the launch codes to get off this rock."

She smiled at the compliment and did her best not to blush, but she could feel her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink.

"Why do you need my help? By the way you handed those Rackghouls last night I'd say you can handled yourself with the Sith" she told him, biting her lower lip.

He looked at her, a puzzled look on his face. What was she talking about? He hadn't done anything special last time they met. And then he remembered his late night scuffle with the little vermin in the under city. He frowned, wondering how she had seen that.

"I was at the Hidden Beks base. The window on the garage has a great view of the under city and I watched a most spectacular scene last night" she confessed to him, feeling her cheek turn only slightly redder.

"Would you two get on with the point? Why can't you get the codes?" Carth intervened, much to Aspyre's dismay.

"I ain't talking to you, am I? I'm talking to your friend" he snapped at him. He turned his gaze to her and a smiled returned to his face. "I can't get the codes because the Sith have me on their database, they'll spot me the second I get near. I could fight my way through, but they would wipe the main computer clean in order to prevent me from getting those codes. If you can get undetected then you'll be able to get the codes without them realizing it. You'll need some real hacking skills to break into the Sith compound, though. There's a droid being readied at the droid shop, just tell the owner Canderous sent you and she'll give it to you" he finished.

Aspyre wondered for a few seconds if she really was going to just give them the droid but kept it to herself. She nodded at him and stood up.

"We'll come back here when we have the codes, Canderous, don't worry. Just be here when you hear the Sith had a break in" she replied to him. She smiled one last time and winked at him before turning around and walking outside, the woman next to her and the soldier (because there was no doubt in Canderous' mind that he was a soldier) falling behind her in a triangle.

Once they were outside the cantina Bastila felt that it was safe to talk.

"I sensed no deception coming from him, which is rare. I think that to some extent, we can trust him" she said to both of them.

"Trust him? He's a Mandalorian, you can't possibly trust them! They're bloodthirsty savages" he replied, ignoring Aspyre, who was rather annoyed at him, no doubt because of his comment before. "If we place our lives on his hands, he'll probably just squash them."

"Well, I trust him. I think we should get that droid and break into the Sith base tomorrow. Or do any of you have any better ideas?" she asked them and was silent for a few seconds waiting for some reply. Carth and Bastila looked at each other but said nothing, finally lowering their head in quiet surrender. "Great! Then let's go get the droid before they close the shop, it's almost night time and I'm sleepy."

Bastila raised her eyebrows at her "I'm sleepy" remark but said nothing. Carth simply sighed and started walking towards the droid shop. Aspyre happily skipped next to him and Bastila fell back a few feet, watching the rather childish girl skipping as if she wasn't in a hostile planet, surrounded by enemy forces, finding a way to escape, but rather as if she had just finished training and was going to go play with her friends. Bastila kept walking when she heard a sound that made her shiver and awoke a sense of dread like she had only felt in Brejick's bed before. Aspyre was whistling a melody, a very well known melody, at least to Bastila. It was the song that the Jedi had played when she first became a Padawan. Nobody except Jedi knew that song. And except for the ones that played it, many Jedi only heard it once in their lives. Fear gripped her and she silently watched for any sign, absolutely anything that could be taken as a warning. She feared the council had not been strong enough, she feared they had been wrong, but most of all, she feared for herself and what would happen if- She shook her head and tried to keep those thoughts from consuming her.

Aspyre felt Bastila's gaze in her face and turned to her, the Jedi quickly looked at the floor and she mentally made a tiny note to remind herself to ask her if everything was okay. She saw that Carth was also looking down at the floor and hoped that they would be able to get off Taris soon. After all, they were strangers in a strange land, and that does have a way of making people cranky, doesn't it?


	6. Best Combination Available

Chapter 6

_Bastila killed the last Dark Jedi with a swift stroke of her blade. She looked up at the figure in black ahead of her._

_ "You cannot win, Revan!" she spat at her._

_ She saw the two other Jedi fall into position next to her. Fools. Weak, pathetic fools. They thought that they could stand up to her? She would enjoy taking their lives. She branded her lightsaber and waited for them to come to her. She could almost taste the fear coming from them, they were terrified, she would take her time, it had been a while since she had fought and she could use the exercise. She saw the one on the right move towards her and she prepared to block his attack when a huge explosion shook the ship. She felt as the blast collided against the hull of her ship and sent the three Jedi and the Sith Lord flying against the wall of the bridge. She felt a blinding pain creeping over her body and she could not move. The blast, it came from behind her ship. But only Malak-_

_ She felt her eyes force themselves open when she realized. Anger, hatred, loathing started to rise in her chest. But another feeling gripped her, despair. He had fired on her. He had tried to kill her. She knew that it was the Sith way, but she had hoped, she had really hoped they would be able to break the cycle. She felt the pain start to go away and her sight was beginning to fade, she felt somebody's hand on her face and saw a woman staring at her, a panicked look on her face._

00

Aspyre woke up for the first time, without any weird feelings making her wonder what she had dreamt. And for the first time since her crazy dreams started, she could actually remember. She had seen Revan and a Jedi team led by Bastila, they were going to fight, but the entire ship shook. Malak had fired on the ship, almost killing her. She wondered for a moment what that meant, everybody knew that Bastila had killed Revan, why would she dream that? After a few seconds she shook her head and ignored her thoughts, dreams were just that, dreams. No reason for her to wonder about them, if anything, she would ask Bastila later.

She saw that Carth and Zaalbar were already up and looking down at the city from the balcony, T3, as she called him, was in standby next to the window, Bastila was asleep on the couch and Mission was curled up in a rather tiny ball in a corner, her right lekku occasionally twitching. She got up from the bed and went straight for the fresher. She quickly showered and dressed in her last outfit. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at the sight, she wasn't vain in the least but one had to recognize a job well done when one saw it. Her white pants hugged her legs tightly, her pink sleeveless shirt was just as pretty as it had been when she bought it and her pink boots managed to compliment her style without attracting too much attention to them. She grabbed her pink belt, already filled with a pair of medpacs and three concussive grenades. She picked her white gloves and headed out the fresher to find Bastila and Mission already having breakfast.

"Good morning" she said happily to both of them.

"What's so good about it?" mumbled Mission with a sleepy face and dark circles under her eyes.

"They would be very good if you had not returned at three in the morning reeking of jawa juice" Bastila stated without looking up from her meal.

Mission shot her a dirty look and took another bite of her meal.

"I was out getting credits while you lazy people where resting, I should be allowed a few more hours of sleep" she grumpily snapped at them.

Aspyre grabbed a plate and helped herself. She ate quickly and finished before Mission was even halfway done. She grabbed a cup of caffa and gulped it down in one shot, a familiar burning feeling creeping down her throat and into her stomach. She shrugged it off and went to brush her teeth. Mission was almost done with her breakfast when Aspyre came out again.

"So, is everybody ready to go?" she wondered out loud.

Carth nodded, Zaalbar roared affirmatively, Mission mumbled negatively, Bastila replied with a curtly "yes" and T3 beeped and booped a few times. Aspyre assumed that meant a yes and started to walk out the door when she heard Carth clear his throat. She turned around and looked at him; she always seemed to forget he was her superior. Right now it wasn't such a big deal, but she was sure that she would be reprimanded if she kept treating him as an equal once they were off world.

"Are we _all _going?" he asked in a worried tone.

"Well, yeah. Aren't we?"

"I don't think we should" Carth said, shaking his head in disapproval. "What if we go and we get caught? We would be screwed beyond repair" he stated.

"You have a point there, Carth. What do you suggest?" Bastila inquired.

"Maybe only two of us should go. That way if we get caught, the others can come and get the job done" he stated firmly.

"That a sound idea. Only I and Aspyre should go" Bastila said. Aspyre looked at her, wondering why she had offered both of them for that and at the same time noting that Bastila had placed herself before her, she didn't know what her mother had taught her, but Aspyre's mom had always said that was impolite.

"Why?" she asked her.

"Because should we be forced to fight, I think we are the best combination available" she explained like she felt it was already obvious. "I don't know where you got your fighting formation, but it compliments mine very well."

Aspyre thought for a moment and nodded at her, but Zaalbar roared something about his life debt and that he couldn't let her run the risk alone. She thought for a moment and then an idea forced itself into her skull.

"Don't worry Zaalbar, I got a plan. Take this com link, I'll press the transmission button three times and that means we got trouble and then you, Carth and Mission can come and save us" she reassured him with a smile on her face. Zaalbar didn't like the idea, but he took the com link and went to the workbench to work on his bowcaster. Aspyre turned to Bastila and mentioned towards the door. They started to leave when Carth spoke up again.

"Hey, be careful kid. Don't take any unnecessary risks, you hear me?" he said in a very military tone.

She smiled at him, nodded and followed Bastila and T3 out the door.

00

He watched her leave, trying really hard to suppress a feeling to run after them. What could possibly happen to them? Bastila was with her, there was no way a few dozen Sith soldiers would capture them. He shrugged his worries aside, Aspyre was a very capable fighter and Bastila was a Jedi, they would be fine. Even that little droid was with them and the little tin can could shoot very well despite his size. Yeah, they would be alright. Right?

00

Bastila and Aspyre walked and T3 rolled down the platform towards the south end of the city, where the Sith Base was located. As they walked rather slowly, Aspyre noticed, she remembered her little mental note from the day earlier and turned around to face Bastila. The Jedi seemed to be thinking in other things other than checking what was in front of her because she did not see Aspyre turning around and stopping in front of her, occupying the space where she was going to step. Nature resolved that anomaly by making them crash, and she bumped headfirst into the smaller girl, hitting her nose with her shoulder.

"Ouch!" Aspyre complained. She brought her hands to her nose and rubbed it. She threw Bastila a reproachful look and kept rubbing her nose.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't see you. Are you okay?" she asked her, grabbing her chin and checking to see if she had broken her nose. When she saw nothing out of the ordinary she let her go. "Why did you do that?"

"I wanted to ask you something" mumbled back.

"Well ask me while we walk, we don't have much time to waste" she said and started walking south again.

Aspyre followed her and hurried to catch up to her. She briskly stepped next to her and evened her pace to mach hers.

"Are you okay? You've been kind of down lately, I mean even more so than the first hours since we found you" she told her with a concerned look on her face.

Bastila looked at her and was touched for a second at her kindness, but before any of it could show in her face, she turned away and kept walking.

"I'm fine" she told her stubbornly. But Aspyre wasn't buying it and she simply kept looking at her, raising her eyebrows and waiting for her to continue. Bastila looked at her and let out a sigh. "I'm fine Aspyre, don't worry about me. Let's just focus on getting off this planet for now, please?"

"No Bastila, you're not fine, I can see you. You throw glances at me all the time, you're always fidgeting with something and I heard you crying last night" she told her as kindly as she could muster.

Bastila looked at her in surprise. She had figured everybody was asleep by that time. She looked down at the floor and her step faltered. Aspyre grabbed her by her arm and led her to the bench on the side of the platform.

"You need to talk about this Bastila, what you went through was horrible and if you don't get it out of your system is going to tear you apart. Don't pretend you're so strong you don't need help; everybody needs help at sometime, let me help you. Please, let me help you" she said to her, rubbing her arm and looking directly at her.

Bastila felt her eyes wet for the third time since she escaped Brejick and tried really hard to keep them dry, but Aspyre hugged her and she felt the tears escaping from her eyes. She started crying quietly but after a few seconds she started whimpering softly and in a few minutes, she was sobbing uncontrollably in Aspyre's shoulder. Bastila tried to block her thoughts out, but the images, her feelings came rushing back. She felt Brejick closing her eyes, she felt men's hands all over her body, she felt as her legs were forcefully spread open and her very core was ravaged by who knows how many men. But what she remembered most vividly, most clearly, was the first time Brejick used her. She could almost see it herself. She had felt so much shame, so much indignation when Brejick had started groping her, but all of that was replaced by pain. So much pain it would have blinded her had she been able to see. She felt something inside her rip open and she felt the echoes of a drowned scream die in her mind as she was unable move, only endure.

Her mind was brought back to the present and she managed to regain some control over herself. Her sobbing stopped and her breathing returned to normal.

"I just want to forget everything" she said, still holding on to Aspyre as a few more rouge tears dropped from her eyes. Aspyre held her and stroked her back, telling her it was going to be alright, telling her she would be there for her and doing her best to comfort her. "It's not fair they did that" she said as she burrowed deeper into her shoulder, trying to hide from the galaxy.

"No, it's not; they did a very bad thing to you. But we will get over this Bastila, I promise" she said, and kept stroking her back, doing her best to comfort the poor girl and trying really hard not to cry herself. The last thing Bastila needed was having her break down in front of her.

"I wanted to kill them. I wanted to make them suffer as much as I did" she confessed to her.

"I know you were outraged, but killing doesn't solve anything. It only brings more grief. You have every right to be mad and sad, but please try to keep your mind clean from all those bad thoughts, they won't help you."

Bastila shuddered and retrieved her face from her hiding spot. She looked at her and felt her pain reflected in her eyes.

"You're right, thinking like that will lead me down a dark path I don't want to walk" she said to her. Ironic that she would be the one to pull her out of her thoughts of vengeance, she thought as she wiped her tears with her fingers. "Thank you so much, Aspyre, you're right, I will get over this."

Aspyre smiled at her and hugged her one more time. Bastila returned the hug and they stayed like that for a few more minutes, a sense of calm and peace returning to both their bodies and minds. Bastila would have liked to stay like that for a few more minutes, but they were interrupted by a familiar beeping coming from behind them.

"Droooow"

Bastila laughed despite herself. She did her best to straighten herself and looked at Aspyre once more before they stood up and kept walking, the Sith Base now only a few more blocks away from where they stood. T3 approached the door and hacked into the terminal right next to it. Aspyre saw as he bypassed very heavy security and after only a minute later the door opened and they went inside. Aspyre saw a Twi'lek in the reception and before she could hide, she turned to look at them and her eyes widened.

"What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here!" she yelled at them in Huttese, her finger darting to the silent alarm.

"Wait!" Aspyre said and hastily pulled out a few credits from her pocket. "Here" she said, stepping closer and handing her 50 credits "please don't touch the alarm."

The Twi'lek debated for a few seconds on what to do, finally deciding that credits defeated Sith and grabbed them from the girl's hand.

"Please, just wait until I'm outside to start shooting" she told them and hastily ran away.

Bastila watched as the receptionist left the building and turned to the droid. She ordered him to hack the computer and after a few minutes, the security cameras where down, they had download a map of the base and figured out where the governor's office was, the elevator's defenses where shut off and the defense turrets where reprogrammed to target the Sith. As soon as T3 was done, screams and grunts started to fill the base and they waited a few more minutes to check if anyone was coming their way.

"I think they're all dead" Aspyre said, not with the enthusiasm that Bastila expected, but with a grave tone in her voice and a sad look on her face. She looked at the girl and placed a hand in her shoulder.

"We have to keep moving, there's no telling when more soldiers might arrive" she told her softly.

Aspyre nodded and started to carefully walk towards the elevator. The girls and the droid went unchallenged through the base and after a few minutes they reached it. They called it down and while they waited for it to arrive, Bastila felt a small tug in the force. With only a nanosecond to spare, she Force pushed Aspyre to the wall and jumped out of the way as a volley of blaster shots collided against the closed elevator door. Bastila peered around the corner and saw five Sith troopers marching their way. Gritting her teeth she drew her yellow double bladed lightsaber.

"Get to the elevator, I'll hold them off!" she yelled as another volley of blaster bolts headed their way.

Aspyre felt as if she was back in the Endar Spire and a voice rang in the back of her skull.

_"Damn! Get to the escape pods, I'll hold him off!"_

_ "I'll hold him off!"_

_ "I'll hold him off!"_

She heard Trask's voice in her ears as if he was right next to her.Aspyre started to sweat, she felt her breathing increase and she shook her colored-drained face at Bastila.

"I can't leave you behind!" she yelled back. She would gladly take a blaster shot to the face than have another person sacrifice themselves for her. The weight of one death on her shoulders was enough, she couldn't imagine what she would do if she had another one.

Bastila saw the elevator door open and she used the Force to grab Aspyre and throw her into the elevator, closing the door shut before the Sith could fire at her. T3 ran his offensive protocols and two little blaster cannons appeared from the side of his "head". He got out from cover and started indiscriminately firing at the soldiers, he managed to hit one in the head and he fell down, dead before he hit the floor. The rest managed to get to cover and set up a very crude mid size barricade before he shot them and Bastila took this opportunity to Force jump at them, igniting her lightsaber in mid air. She landed behind them and as they turned around to face her she sliced off the head of the closest trooper and started blocking the shots they fired at her, she mostly blocked to random places, but managed to redirect one directly at the chest of one of them. He staggered back, but his armor protected him from most of the blast and after a few seconds he continued firing at her. Bastila had trouble blocking all of the shots coming at her and started to dodge some of them as she walked away from them. T3 rolled towards the soldiers and kept firing at them, quickly calculating the strength of the barricade they had so crudely placed together and firing one shot directly in its weak point. The barricade crumbled and two soldiers turned to face him while the third pulled out his vibroblade. Without cover to protect them from his advanced targeting system, T3 quickly shot the two soldiers in their necks and killed them. The foolish soldier who tried to cross swords with Bastila soon found himself without and arm and a yellow blade of energy being driven in his heart. He slumped forward lifeless and Bastila turned off her lightsaber and started to walk to the elevator.

She saw it had already reached the top floor and using the Force she pushed the call back button and the elevator started its decent back down. By the time she and T3 reached it, it had already opened. She stepped inside the empty metal box and T3 joined her shortly, she crossed her arms and Forced pushed the button for the last floor. The doors closed and the elevator started rising, way too slowly for Bastila's taste, toward the last floor.

00

Aspyre walked quickly down the only corridor in the last floor, and soon found herself standing right beside the only door there. She was about to open it when her resolve faltered and she took a few calming breaths to regain her focus. Bastila was a Jedi; there was no way that those soldiers could take her down. And she had T3 with her and the little droid was far more resourceful than he looked. She shoved her thoughts aside and was about to hit the release button when she saw a light at the end of the corridor. The elevator was going back down, which meant somebody called it back. She hoped with all her soul that it was Bastila and T3 coming to join her. But if it wasn't she would be in very big trouble. The hallway she was in had absolutely nothing in it that could be used as cover and she soon realized her only option was continuing forward. She opened the door and stepped inside, silently wishing that Bastila and T3 were coming to help her.


	7. Shattered By The Force

Chapter 7

Aspyre saw a bald man sitting with his legs crossed in the middle of the room in front of her. She saw a double bladed vibroblade next to him, blades cleaned and shined to perfection. He was wearing a black Jedi robe and she correctly assumed that he was a dark Jedi. She felt fear creeping back at her like it had in the Endar Spire, but she fought it back this time. There was no Trask to save her now, nobody to help her but herself. The bald man must have noticed her presence because he turned his head halfway around and looked at the shadow covered figure of Aspyre. He frowned and stood up, his fist closed in anger and a murderous look on his face.

"Who dares interrupt my meditation?" he angrily asked her. "You will pay for this trans- Wait. The force is strong in you… Who would have thought I would find a force sensitive in this back water rock?" he said with a sick smile on his face. "Oh this is perfect; my master will surely reward me with my lightsaber when I kill you."

Aspyre drew her blade and remained quiet. She saw the look in his eyes, there was no way she could talk herself out of this one. She decided it was best to press the attack and force him against the wall, where he would be hindered and unable to use his long weapon effectively.

She charged at him and he pulled his sword with the Force and blocked her attack. She swung again in a diagonal uppercut but he seemed to be reading her movements, like he knew where she was going to strike before she did. They kept playing this game until he managed to cleave her in her arm. She lifted her arm in the last moment, but the blade still cut through her uncovered flesh and she felt a small piece of it falling down on the ground, nerves screaming at her in torment. She locked her blade against his and tried to push him back, but this proved to be a mistake, he was taller than her and stronger and he was slowly pushing her back. She managed to hold long enough to knee him in his stomach and he staggered back, surprised at her resilience. Blood was dripping from his blade and the cut on her arm. She favored it and switched hands to the left one when she saw the tiny opening in the fight. He stood straight and closed his eyes for a second. She wondered what he was doing and the answer came to her a second later, very painfully.

He focused on her and with a flick of his wrist he lifted her and sent her crashing back first against the wall. She bounced and fell on the floor and tried to get up but he grabbed her again and pushed to the side, knocking her against the wall. She felt a very sharp pain on her head as it slammed again against the heavy metal. The Sith finally gave up on pushing her and began advancing towards her, sword lifted and ready to strike. She rolled on her back and managed to lift her sword just in time to block his attack. He pressed down on her and pushed his entire weight on her. Aspyre groaned as she felt the immense toll that keeping him away from her was costing her body. Her arms were screaming and every muscle in her body was burning up. Her head was pounding and she could hear her heart beating on her ears. With one last mighty effort before her muscles tore, she managed to release one of her hands and jabbed a finger on his eye. The Sith staggered back, screaming in pain. She saw him cover his face with his hands and she managed to get up. She was exhausted, she barely managed to lift her blade when she saw him threw her a hateful look with his remaining eye. He raised one of his hands and small sparks began to flow through his fingertips. Aspyre took a step back, unsure of what to expect and before she could do anything she saw blue bolts of lightning traveling from his fingertips to the air in front of them, to her body.

The lightning hugged her in a deadly, burning embrace and she felt as the shocks traveled through all her body. She screamed in pain as she tried to turn away from it, but no matter how hard she tried, the lightning kept cruising through her body, hurting her and burning her. It scorched her skin first and penetrated through it, making her muscles twitch and spasm against her will. It traversed her muscle tissue and wrapped itself around her bones, making them chatter together and get dangerously close to their shatter point. Just when she felt she could take no more of this torture, she saw with the corner of her eyes as the door opened. The bald man lost his focus and turned to face whoever had opened the door. A woman stood at the door, her pale hands shaking with fury. She moved her thumb and soon a yellow glow filled the room. The Sith turned to face her, but he was weak from his encounter with Aspyre and the toll of using the Force for so long had disoriented him. He saw as her lightsaber came down on him and he managed to lift his sword and block it, but before he could even twitch, the other end of the blade came down on him and he felt as his arm was separated from his body. Bastila crouched and spun her saber around, taking off his feet and before he had hit the ground she lifted her lightsaber above her head and brought it crashing down on his stomach, the sheer force of the impact causing small cracks to appear in the ground. Aspyre heard him groan in pain and silently forgave him before the last of his strength left his body.

Bastila stood up and ran to Aspyre who was lying on the ground, rolling around in pain with the small hint of burned flesh coming of her. Bastila panicked when she saw her in this condition and hoped that her healing skills were enough to help her. She focused with all her might and started to pass her hands through her injuries, which were most of her body. She used up all of her strength, but managed to heal her almost completely, her skin returned to her normal color and she saw as Aspyre opened her eyes, slightly confused at the sudden disappearance of pain. She saw Bastila on top of her, her face barely inches away from hers and blushed. What was she doing so close to her? She tried to get up, but found that Bastila was literally on top of her.

"Are you okay?" she asked with a worried look on her face.

"Yes. Thank you for saving me. I don't know how much longer I could have lasted... It hurt so bad I just wanted to die" she told her. Bastila nodded at her and was about to get up, but Aspyre grabbed her wrists and pulled down towards her. She hugged her and mumbled multiple "Thank you" and "You saved me".

"It's okay, you would have done the same for me" she responded.

After a while they got up and saw that T3 had already accessed the computer and had downloaded the launch codes. Bastila tried to walk, but found that healing Aspyre had used up a lot of her strength and staggered back before Aspyre caught her and together the two women and the droid made their way back to the outside of the base. They saw no more soldiers trying to attack them on the way out, which was a really good thing, Aspyre's sore muscles still burned with pain and she was struggling trying to carry Bastila. She did her best but the progress was very slow. They passed by the main hallway which they had avoided the first time and Aspyre saw something that made her gasp. The Sith had a prisoner, it was the Duros they had seen when they first when out of their apartment. She placed Bastila down on the ground for a second and went towards his cell.

"It's you, the human that helped when the Sith arrived! Please you must help me again, they captured me and have placed me on this cell for the murder of a Sith officer, I'm on death row, you have to free me!" he pleaded her.

Aspyre nodded to him and turned her back to him and saw a few switches on the other side of the wall, she pressed one and it turned green but the ones next to it turned red. She winced when she thought what it meant. Probably it meant that if she turned every switch to green she would be able to free the alien. After fidgeting a few more times with the switches, she managed to get all of them green and the energy cage shut down.

The Duros walked towards her and thanked her once again for her help. He was about to leave when she asked him for help carrying the almost unconscious Bastila. The alien nodded and they both picked her up by one of her arms. They managed to get out of the base in less than five minutes and by the time they were outside; Bastila was able to walk by herself again, albeit wobbly. They both thanked the alien and they parted ways. Aspyre knelt down next to T3 and connected her datapad to him; he transferred the code to it and beeped to her. She thanked him and they began to make their way back to the apartment. They decided to send T3 back alone and they would catch up to him a bit later. They sat down on the same bench where they had rested before. It was barely noon and most people were only beginning to go out the streets. Bastila felt as her strength slowly returned to her and Aspyre felt her wounds bothering her again. She pulled out a medpac and injected herself with it. She soon felt its healing powers and she felt almost as good as new. Bastila grabbed her arm and lifted it to see how her cut had healed. She saw nothing more than a very faint scar and decided she had done a good job.

She still wondered how it was that she had managed to withstand so much against a Force wielder, and not only stand but weaken him substantially. Where her powers returning? No, preposterous, she thought right away, but the man had barely put on a fight when she came in which meant he had been very busy with Aspyre. She looked at the girl next to her and suddenly saw that she looked much older than she did before. She looked… her age, really. Her usually energetic and happy face was fully devoid of emotion and she only sat there, her eyes closed and her breathing steady. Bastila placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.

"You did very well fighting off that Sith" she told her.

"If you had not been there he would have killed me" she said to her in an emotionless tone.

Bastila was silent for a second, thinking what she was going to say.

"Nonetheless, you were able to hold your own against him for quite a while. Any other person would have fallen in the first twenty seconds, but you lasted for more than a minute" she comforted her. Aspyre smiled at her and told her it would be best for them to return to the apartment, they had wasted enough time and Carth was probably worried about them. Bastila stood up and offered Aspyre her hand. She took it and together they made their way back to the apartment.

00

Carth looked up when he heard the door open. He sighed in relief when he saw both of them entering the room, but his face changed into one of worry when he saw they were barely standing up, Aspyre looked like she had been burned and Bastila looked like she had spent the last five days running from somebody. He went to them and he grabbed one of them with one hand each. He led them to the bed and Aspyre fell right on top of it. He took Bastila to the couch and she also fell right away. Less than a minute later they were both snoring deeply. Mission did not even move from her corner and was still wrapped in a ball, sleeping deeply. Zaalbar had finished working with his bowcaster and now he and Carth were playing Pazaak, in silence.

00

_Revan slashed at the Mandalorian in front of her, her blue blade cut right through his armor like it was made of butter and she quickly turned and blocked a few blaster shots fired at her. She used the force and ran towards a large amount of Mandalorians, she jumped and doing a summersault in mid air, she landed right behind them and Force pushed them to the ground, before they could get up she sliced at their throats, killing them instantly. She looked around, they jungle was thick with trees and she could not really see where her army was. She began to run towards the sound of blaster fire and soon saw it; Alek was in the middle of the fight, slashing at many Mandalorians while protecting as many soldiers as he could. She saw him deflecting a few blaster shots, which followed their trajectory back to their fathers, ending their lives. She ran to where they were and decapitated one before they even saw her. She blocked a few shots fired at her and she forced pushed a large group of Mandalorians against the wall. Keeping them in place she threw her lightsaber at them and slashed them all in half._

_ She saw more troops heading towards Alek and she used the Force to jump as high as she could, she reached the tree tops, for a second staying there up in the air, floating above the battlefield. She did a quick flip in the air and slowly she began her descent down, concentrating all her energy on her fist and warned Alek to raise a shield as soon as she hit the ground. She was only a few feet from hitting the ground when she saw him lift his hands and create a Force shield around him and the few remaining soldiers. Revan's fist clashed against the ground, a huge force rippled through it, sending shockwaves around her. An earthquake would have been quieter than her punch. Alek and the soldiers were safe inside his shield, but the rest of the Mandalorians had their bones shattered by the force of the impact and by the huge pieces of ground and rock that rose from the ground and smashed against them._

_ After the dust settled, the only living things in a radius of half a kilometer were Revan, Alek and the last seven soldiers. She smiled weakly at him and he returned her smile. The soldier cheered her and they began their trek back to the ship, avoiding stepping on the shattered corpses of the enemy, when they could. They were almost halfway when she and Alek hanged back with the excuse of making sure nobody was following them. The soldiers marched forward and soon reached the ship. He grabbed Revan and lifted her. She grabbed his shoulders and planted a huge kiss on his lips. They were so entranced that they barely noticed the hidden Mandalorian behind them. With a yell, he slashed at them. In less than a second, Revan places her knees against Alek's chest and pushed with all her might, she sent him backwards and tried to pull her lightsaber, but she was too late, the Mandalorian's blade struck her on the side of her stomach and kept cutting all the way to her thigh. She screamed in pain as the blade exited her flesh but before he could strike again a blue lightsaber cut through his head and severed it from his shoulders. Alek rushed to her and knelt down beside her, checking her wounds._

_ "Lay still love, this is going to hurt" he informed her with a very worried tone in his voice. He looked at her, waiting for her to tell him she was ready. She nodded and closed her eyes. She felt a huge amount of pain as Alek's hands grabbed her leg and tightly wrapped it and after a few second the wound closed, he did the same to her stomach but soon found himself without strength to continue. Frustrated he grabbed her and ran to the ship. He yelled at the pilot to take them to the nearest medical station and they took off almost immediately._

00

Aspyre woke up and saw the sun setting on the window of the apartment. She tried to get up, but her old racing scar was hurting her. She lay back down and waited for the pain to dissipate as she remembered her accident. It had been on the tournament final. She had wanted to break a new record and she had installed more horsepower on her pod in exchange for maneuverability. It had cost her the race, and had left her marked from the top of her rib cage to the top of her thigh. She had actually been lucky that all she had was a scar, many did not survive, and those that did usually had a leg less or so. After a few moments she saw Bastila waking up and looking at her. She stood up and headed towards her. She stretched out her hand and Aspyre gladly grabbed it, not bothering to ask how she knew she needed help. She turned her head and saw only Mission on the corner, still cuddled in a tiny blue ball. She saw T3 waiting in the corner, she saw Bastila walking to the fresher, but Zaalbar and Carth were not there. For a second she wondered where they were but she was too hungry to think straight. She went to the kitchen and quickly fixed lunch for her and Bastila. She came out of the fresher a few minutes later and they both sat down and ate in silence for a while. Aspyre was the first to break the silence. She swallowed what she had in her mouth and looked at Bastila.

"Hey I wanted to ask you something"

"Sure, go ahead" she told her.

"I had this dream a few days ago" she started and stopped, trying to find the best way to explain it. "I guess it was of you. You were fighting in a ship's bridge" she said and waited for Bastila's reaction. She raised her eyebrows, but nothing else so she continued. "You were going to fight Revan but when you were about to move, a huge explosion rocked the ship and I fell to the ground."

"_You _fell to the ground?"

"Oh, yeah. Well in my dream I'm Revan" she clarified.

The color left Bastila's face the second she said that and Aspyre thought she was choking on her food. A few coughs later she managed to calm down enough to answer to her.

"Well, I think it wasn't a dream, it was a vision… Strange, such visions are usually a sign of Force sensitivity" she said with a slight pause.

Aspyre had the very bad timing of swallowing when Bastila finished her sentence and felt as her food went down the wrong pipe. She coughed a few times and managed to clear her airway. She gasped a few times and looked at Bastila, incredulously.

"Force sensitivity? As in I can use the Force?" she asked her. Sure she had heard the Sith say she was strong in the Force but she really didn't feel like believing the man that had crashed her against walls and electrocuted her.

"I'm not sure. I might have spoken out of turn. I have meddled in things that are best left for the Jedi council" she stated, implying that she was not going to discuss it any further. The girls kept eating in silence and after a few minutes they heard a ruffle from the corner and they say the tiny ball disengage itself and become a Twi'lek once again. Mission stood up and yawned. She saw the two girls looking at her and walked to them. She grabbed an energy bar from the emergency rations and started eating it.

"Mission, those bars are in the case of an emergency. I see no point in using them if we have perfectly fine food for you to cook" Bastila nagged her, much like a school teacher would speak to a student who wasn't following instructions. Mission stuck her tongue at her and simply kept eating. The trio felt silent until Mission looked at Aspyre and saw the cut in her arm.

"Hey! What happened to you?" she inquired, lifting her arm to see if she was alright.

"Oh, that, don't worry, long story short I fought a Dark Jedi and managed to hold him despite the fact that he could use the Force until Bastila arrived and killed him and now she says I might be able to learn who to use the Force too" she told her with a grin on her face.

Mission looked dumbfounded for a few seconds while her brain processed the information. After a few moments she looked at both of them and whistled. The three girls turned around when they heard the door open and they saw Zaalbar and Carth coming in.

"Oh good, you're all awake" he said to the trio. "That makes it all easier. We went to speak with Canderous while you three were out cold." Aspyre gasped when he said this. They had gone to see Canderous? Without her? "Yeah, yeah I know you're crushed. Anyways, he says he can introduce you to Davik Kang under the pretense that you want to work for the exchange, and then you can sneak into his hangar and steal the Ebon Hawk, that's his flagship, and come back here and pick the rest of us."

"Okay… Is Canderous in the cantina now?" she asked him.

"Yeah he said he would wait for you there and then take you to Davik" Carth replied.

"We should go right now" Bastila told her and they both started to head to the cantina.

"I guess it would be pointless to tell you to be careful, won't it?" Carth asked them with a weary tone on his voice.

Aspyre and Bastila both turned to him and fixed him an I-not-a-child gaze. For a second Carth thought he was seeing double. Both women looked exactly the same except for the hair and eye color, but every twitch in their face, every contortion they made was exactly the same. They both turned around and kept walking towards the cantina.

"Aspyre's gonna be a Jedi" she heard Mission say before the door closed. She sighed and decided she should run for it before Carth opened the door and began questioning her.

00

Canderous saw as the blonde girl approached him with that same smile on her face. She was followed by a brunette who didn't have the same happiness on her face, but they both grabbed a chair and sat down next to him. He looked at both of them for a few seconds.

"I supposed that Republic got you all filled in right?" he asked her.

Aspyre nodded at him.

"When do we leave?" she asked him.

"Right now" he responded.

She looked slightly unprepared for his response but she didn't back down. She looked at her partner who simply nodded to her and the three of them stood up and headed towards Davik's state. Canderous warned them about their cover story and that Bastila would have to pretend to be Aspyre's slave prize from the swoop tournament. They both winced when he said that but nodded and kept quiet. After a few minutes they arrived at Davik's state and they got off the land speeder. They stood in front of a big pair of solid metal doors with a small terminal next to it. Canderous went to it and typed the password and the doors opened. They saw a rather large room with lots of boxes on one corner and a small carrier droid filled with more crates moving around the room, organizing the boxes and placing some on top of others. Aspyre looked over and saw an older balding man with a purple suit of armor and next to him a small man wearing a blue sweater and a white- It was Nord. Aspyre visible swallowed and after a few seconds she followed Canderous towards them, Bastila right next to her with a humble look on her face.


	8. Crushing Calo's Fist

Chapter 8

Aspyre saw how the man in the purple armor stiffened when he saw them arrive. He looked at Canderous and his gaze shifted to Bastila and finally, it landed on Aspyre. She managed to suppress a shiver when she saw his eyes absorbing her figure. They approached them and stopped a few feet away. The short man crossed his arms and threw Canderous a dirty look. Canderous returned it and turned his gaze over to Davik.

"Canderous, I was wondering where you had run off to" he told him with a smirk on his face.

Canderous looked at him and merely shrugged. Davik turned his gaze to Aspyre but kept talking to Canderous.

"So, how come you're no longer travelling alone?" he inquired.

"It's not like you to take partners, Canderous. You're getting soft" the short man replied to him with a smirk on his face.

"Watch it Calo, you may be the newest Kath Hound in the pack, but you ain't top dog yet!" Canderous snarled at him.

"Enough! I won't have my top two men killing each other over a simple squabble! That's not good for business" he told them as if they were children. They both snorted at the same time and turned around. Aspyre smiled at the sight and small chuckle escaped from her lips. All three men turned to face her and she looked down on the ground. "So, I'm sure you have a good reason as to why you're not traveling alone anymore" Davik told Canderous.

"I brought you a potential recruit, Davik. You probably have heard of her exploits yourself. She won the Swoop tournament and helped you with your gang problems afterwards" he explained to him.

"Ah yes, now I recognize her" he said with a smirk on his face. "It would be very beneficial for the exchange to have somebody like you working for us; your talents could come in very handy around here."

"You're offer sounds very intriguing, mister Kang" she replied to him and bowed slightly.

Davik smiled at her fake humbleness and at the ego boost that he received from her.

"With a recommendation from Canderous and a throughout background check, you will be able to join us in no time."

"Thank you Mister Kang, I look forward to working with you" she said with another curtly bow to him.

"One thing though, who is that behind you? She has been rather quiet."

Bastila kept her gaze in the floor while she waited for Aspyre to explain her presence there. She had taken off her pants and was once again wearing her slave outfit. She had refused at the thought initially but soon they had come to the conclusion it was the only way he would believe their story.

"Oh, I won her at the tournament. She has proved to be quite an entertaining girl, if only a little clumsy. How she managed to get that far in the Republic is beyond me" she said with a grin on her face. Davik looked at her and noticed the hand marks on her legs. He raised his eyebrows silently asked her what were those on her legs. "Oh that, well she didn't feel like behaving the first couple of days, I had to punish her quite a few times."

Davik was silent for a few seconds, he nodded to them, a slight grin on his face, and mentioned to the door behind him.

"Come" he said with a bigger grin on his face "Let me show you around."

The tour of his base was not as revealing as Aspyre thought it would be and after a few minutes they had only seen the throne room, the security room and the slave quarters. He led them to the barracks and told them that until they finished checking her background she would have to remain there as his "guest". Canderous said he was going to get her up to date on things and stayed behind while Calo and Davik left. Aspyre checked the room they were in, it had two beds on each side of the room. There was a large table in the middle of the room with four chairs. A small fruit basket was placed in the center and a few potted plants were placed at random locations in the room. Not really one for decoration, Davik was.

"All right then, now that they're gone we can get down to business ourselves. The Ebon Hawk is located in Davik's hangar, all we need is to get the access codes and then we can go get your friends and leave this rock."

Aspyre nodded and rummaged through her bag, she took out Bastila's lightsaber and handed it to her. She pulled out her rifle and followed Canderous outside. They went around the guest rooms, trying to find the best way around the guards. Canderous led them to the throne room and they checked the cameras. On the first three the saw only security guards, on the fourth they saw themselves and on the fifth one they saw a room labeled "Torture Room". Aspyre winced when she saw a man standing in a force cage and shaking and screaming with pain. She downloaded a map and quickly ran to him. Canderous and Bastila followed her and they managed to get to the hall outside the room. They thought that the coast was clear when Aspyre felt something push her into a wall and a blaster bolt sizzling next to her head. She saw Bastila drawing her lightsaber and deflecting a few shots fired at her. Aspyre lifted her rifle and fired a few rounds at the Trashodian guarding the door, but he jumped out of the way. Canderous came from behind the corner and laid down some covering fire for them. Aspyre and Bastila ran toward where he was hiding, Aspyre drawing her blade in the process. They reached the corner and sharply turned and were greeted by a few beeps. They looked down and saw a fragmentation mine on the floor. She saw Bastila spread her arms and a huge explosion surrounded them. A blazing heat covered their bodies, but she was not thrown across the room in a bloody mess like she had expected. Aspyre opened her eyes and saw Bastila in front of her arms, unscathed. She saw her run at an amazing speed and slashed at the Trashodian hiding in the corner.

"Come on, we're almost there!" she yelled at them. Canderous ran after her and Aspyre followed him. She winced when she saw the headless body of the alien lying on the floor. They reached the room and found the man in the cage. Aspyre ran to the console and turned off the torture program. She searched for a few more moments and found the shut down command for the force cage. The man let out an exhausted sigh and fell on the floor. She ran to him and checked his pulse, deciding he was pretty stable she tried to talk to him. He was disoriented but he managed to understand her.

"Are you okay?"

The man nodded and after a few moments tried to get up. She grabbed his arm and lifted him. The man managed to stand up for a few seconds and then leaned on the table for support.

"Thank you, if you hadn't arrived when you did, I would have gone insane for sure. You saved my life" he told her with a look of eternal gratitude on his face. Aspyre nodded and smiled at him. She grabbed a medpac and handed it to him. He took it with shaky hands and injected himself. After a few moments the color returned to his face, his legs and hands stopped shaking and a more focused look returned to his eyes. "Here, let me give you something. I was Davik's pilot; I have the codes for the Ebon Hawk. If you have a datapad, I can give them to you."

Aspyre nodded and handed him her datapad, he accessed the writing program and started keying in a rather long sequence. He handed her the datapad back and told her he was going to try to escape. He left the room quickly and headed the way they came.

"All right we got what we needed, let's go" Canderous said, taking point.

They walked back to the hangar and only encountered one more group of guards; Canderous had killed four of them by the time Bastila threw her lightsaber at them. The saber went almost threw empty air but at the last second Bastila turned it and aimed it at the last two guards, the saber rose to the ceiling, it sliced the first guard in half and removed the head of the second one. They were about to open the door when they felt a huge tremor shaking the entire base. Aspyre fell to the ground and tried to find the reason for the shaking, but the only thing she saw was the base shaking and her companions trying to maintain their balance.

"What's going on!" she yelled as more waved shook the earth under them.

"The Sith! They're bombing the planet!" Bastila yelled through gritted teeth.

"Why?" Canderous shot back.

"Because they want to kill me!" Bastila yelled at him and started to make their way to the hangar.

The Ebon Hawk. Its base was painted a silver color and the top part of the ship was painted in a bright brown. Aspyre had never seen a more majestic ship in her life. It had a sleek shape that made it look like it was built for royalty. It had a large turret on top of it and another one under it, probably capable of damaging freighters and capital ships if turned to full power. The flaps were deployed, ready for takeoff and the loading ramp was open, it was almost inviting her to come inside. They started to run towards it when they saw two men doing the same thing from the other end of the Hangar. Aspyre saw a purple blur and a smaller blue blur next to it. She turned around to face them and saw it was Calo and Davik. The ship's ramp lay right in the middle of them and they stood still for a second. Aspyre drew her rifle and Canderous did the same. Bastila unhooked her lightsaber but did not turn it on. Another blast shook the base and they did their best not to fall down.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Thieves in the hangar. Thought you would steal my ship and leave me stranded while the Sith turned this planet into ash? Sorry but that's not gonna happen!" Davik yelled at them.

"I'll take care of them, Davik. I've been forward to this for a long time" Calo said with a smirk on his face.

"Make it quick, Calo. We have to get out of here quickly or the bombs the Sith are dropping will kill us all!"

Canderous aimed straight at Calo and fired a quick burst at him. Calo jumped out of the way and returned fire as he did, expertly rolling to reduce the impact. Canderous dodged his shots and kept firing. They both stood up and began to run sideways away from the Hawk, never taking their fingers of triggers. Bastila ignited her saber and jumped towards Davik who had pulled out his vibroblade. Aspyre ran towards the Hawk and made her way to the cockpit. She powered up the engines and in a few minutes it would be ready to fly.

Canderous and Calo were still firing at each other but they were getting closer and soon their blasters were useless. They threw them to the ground and starting fist fighting. Canderous landed a solid uppercut on Calo's chin, but the bounty hunter managed to kick him in his left shin and they both staggered back. Canderous managed to grab him by the torso and lift him up before dropping him down on the ground with all his might. The shorter man kicked him in his stomach and forced him back, gaining some time to regroup. Calo stood up straight and ran towards Canderous, throwing a powerful punch at his face. Canderous grabbed his fist with his left hand and threw a blow of his own but Calo managed to grab his wrist before it connected. They struggled for a few moments in that position, neither of them gaining the advantage over the other one. Canderous was taller and had gravity on his side, but for somebody that small Calo was just too damn strong. He managed to hold his left fist in place but his grip on his wrist was starting to take its toll and he soon felt his hand going numb. Sweat was pouring down their faces and Canderous began to feel his right size falter. He responded by crushing Calo's fist with all his might while Calo did the same to his wrist. They would have kept going until one of them faltered, but all of a sudden Calo was thrown across the room and smashed against the wall. Canderous turned, about to curse at the Jedi princess for interfering with his fight but the roof shook again and started to collapse on them. A piece of ceiling fell on top of Calo's unconscious body and crushed him. Gritting his teeth, Canderous ran towards the Hawk which was ready to take off. As soon as she heard both Canderous and Bastila were inside Aspyre took off and immediately went to their apartment building. She pulled out her com link and yelled at it.

"Zaalbar! Get everybody to the roof now!" she yelled as she kicked the Hawk into full speed, heading towards the main city. She heard an affirmative roar and in a few minutes she was on top of the roof of their building. She opened the hatch and ran to the main room. Carth was the first to get inside and she pointed him towards the cockpit. He ran without saying anything and as soon as everybody was inside he took off.

Bastila and Aspyre ran to the cockpit. Bastila sat on the co-pilot's chair and began punching in the hyperspace coordinates. Nobody asked her where they were going but, Aspyre was sure, nobody really cared right now, least of all her. She was far too busy watching the destruction of the city in front of her eyes. She saw entire building collapse into the under city, she watched as the platform began to crack and hundreds of citizens began to fall to their death. Her eyes started to water when she saw something that froze her blood and stopped her heart. A little girl wearing a beautiful red dress with pretty red shoes and a gorgeous red bow in her impeccable brown hair was crying in a corner of the platform that had not been completely destroyed yet. She watched as the girl looked up and grabbed hold of her plush doll. She watched as the platform began to give and she saw how the girl tumbled forward, letting go of her doll as she tried to hold on to anything. She watched as she grabbed on to the ledge, desperately clinging for her life and lastly, she watched as the little girl's grip on the ledge faltered and she saw how the little girl fell down into the darkness below. Aspyre had never felt such sorrow, such despair, and such hopelessness in her life.

It couldn't be true; she couldn't have just watched that, that little girl couldn't have been real. She had made her up, it couldn't be true. She saw Bastila's face looking at her like she had been screaming and it took her a second to realize that she had screamed when she saw the little girl fall down. She looked at Bastila for a second and tried to say anything but she couldn't muster the words. She tried to focus her crying eyes on her and listened what she was saying.

"The Sith deployed fighters, hold them off until we can punch in the coordinates!"

She nodded absentmindedly and ran to the lower turret, she yelled at Canderous and he ran to the top one. Aspyre felt an immense hatred rising, boiling in her chest. She felt it rise even more as she saw the Sith fighters coming at her. The bastards, she thought, she would make every last one of them pay for what they had done. She saw flashes of white obscure her vision, but grabbed the controls of her turret nonetheless. She locked on the first fighter she saw and began indiscriminately firing at him, in less than few seconds his ship was nothing more than just a pile of rubble. She kept firing at the second fighter and she heard as Canderous yelled the number of fighters he killed. The Hawk broke the atmosphere and she caught sight of the Sith capital ship still firing at the planet. She charged her turret to the max and fully knowing that it wouldn't do much good, she began to fire at it. She saw how her shots bounced back from the shield and travelled harmlessly in space. She kept firing even after she had heard Canderous telling her they were safe. She kept firing even after she felt the sudden change in speed as they entered hyperspace. She kept firing until she felt a large hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and tried to focus on how it was, but there to many tears in her eyes and she couldn't see clearly. The hand grabbed her and led her out of the turret. She followed it and she managed to see Canderous in front of her. She looked up at him and hugged him, sobbing and muttering insults at the Sith. Canderous separated himself from her and looked into her eyes with a cold look in his eyes.

"Don't let this break you, kid. Don't get sad, get even" he told her with a firm tone. "There is no greater pleasure you can give them, than breaking down in front of them. When they break you, put your best mask, and show them only hatred. We'll get them. I doubt they will let this go any time soon."

She nodded to him and dried her nose and sniffed a few times. He nodded one last time at her and went somewhere on the ship. She walked to the cockpit and found Carth and Bastila discussing her decision to take them to Dantooine. She walked in and they both looked at her and fell silent. She tried to speak but nothing came out of her mouth. She closed her eyes and tried to keep the tears from rising again in her chest. Bastila approached her and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked her softly.

"I saw- I watched this" she broke off, feeling the tears pouring out of her eyes "little girl" was all she managed to speak before she broke down in tears again, not being able to take Canderous' advice. Bastila gasped and immediately understood what she meant. She hugged her and placed her head against her chest. She turned around to Carth and silently told him "We'll talk later". He nodded and Bastila guided Aspyre to the main room. From there she looked both ways and started walking to the left, hoping that was the way to the quarters. She saw Mission sitting on one of the beds, crying softly. She took Aspyre next to her and saw as they both stared at each other and hugged themselves. She smiled sadly at the sight and went back to the cockpit.

Bastila sat down in the cockpit and let out a sigh. She looked at Carth who was patiently waiting for her to retake her conversation and she sighed again.

"Look, Dantooine is the safest place that there is right now. Even Malak would think twice before attacking it, there are too many Jedi for him to handle" she stated firmly at him. "So just trust my judgment please."

He was about to say something but then shut his mouth and checked the travel summary. It would take eight days to reach Dantooine. He sighted and rested his eyes, it had been a long day and he just wanted to rest.

00

Aspyre went walking around the Ebon Hawk the next few days, learning the ship's layout and where the crew likely to be found. Canderous usually hanged out in the garage, working on the swoop bike they had found and only leaving to go to the workbench or to the main room to eat. Mission usually stayed in the now officially named girl's quarters, Zaalbar was mostly in the main room, usually eating or playing pazaak with Mission. Carth stayed in the cockpit most of the time, T3 was usually roaming around the ship, checking it for any kinks he could find and Bastila was usually in the cockpit with Carth or in the cargo hold where she meditated. She found she was spending most of the time with Canderous, listening to his war stories, watching him train; sometimes she would help with the swoop and overall just being with him. She had tried to get him to train her but he said she was too brittle for Mandalorian training. She frowned at him when he said that but he didn't seem to pay attention to her. She left him to work on the swoop bike and went to the cargo hold, she found Bastila meditating and was about to leave her be when she heard her voice calling him.

"Where are you going?" she asked her without opening her eyes.

"I don't want to bother you" she replied.

Bastila was silent for a moment and opened her eyes to confirm what her mind had already told her. Aspyre was watching her from the doorway, leaning on the right side of the door. She smiled at her and motioned her to come over. She obliged and walked towards her.

"Do you want to meditate with me?" she asked her.

Aspyre thought for a second and nodded. She sat down in front of her and crossed her legs just like Bastila was. Bastila motioned her to close her eyes and she did. For a few seconds the only sound she heard was hers and Bastila's breathing.

"Block out all your thoughts. Feel the cold floor on your legs. Feel the lack of wind in the ship." She started talking like she was her master. Aspyre grinned at the thought and she felt a tug on the back of her head.

"_I said clear your thoughts" _she heard Bastila's voice say. But it wasn't normal, something was off. She didn't hear her voice coming from the front like the other times, this time it simply popped in her mind and she heard it inside her head. She opened her eyes and saw that Bastila had her lips and her eyes closed shut. She closed her eyes again and heard Bastila's voice again. "_Feel your blood moving though you body. Feel the oxygen entering you body. Feel how it travels from your nostrils to your lungs. Feel your alveoli sending the oxygen into your cells."_

Aspyre didn't know for how long they sat there, just feeling. She didn't feel much of what Bastila said, but she tried nonetheless and after a while she actually could feel her blood moving through her body, she could feel the oxygen traveling through her lungs and she could feel something else. A presence, something that was there, but wasn't really there. Something that crept on the back of her mind but vanished right away. She tried to focus on it the next time she felt it and after a few tries she got hold of it. It was a pressure, a tiny teeny pressure on the back of her skull. She tried to feel it again until she got used to it. The next time she felt it she tried to embrace it, no easy task, seeing as she was never instructed how to do that so she was just guessing, but after a few tries she managed to feel it. She managed to recognize it.

_"Bastila?"_ she asked in her head. Aspyre held a sharp intake of breath and opened her eyes and saw Bastila looking at her, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Did you speak to me?" she asked her.

"I think I did, that was you right? You were that thing I felt on the back of my head" she responded to her. Bastila turned slightly red and nodded at her. She apologized for intruding her thoughts and explained it was something she did almost unconsciously. Aspyre smiled at her and placed a hand on her leg. "Relax Bastila" she reassured her with a smile on her face "you have a free pass to my thoughts."

Bastila smiled back at her and asked her if she would leave her alone for a while. Aspyre nodded and checked her watch and to her surprise it was already half past noon. It had been four hours since she stepped on the cargo hold. Still amazed at herself, she went to the main room and served herself a bowl of some kind of soup the food dispenser spat out. She grabbed a spoon and began eating. It actually wasn't that bad. When she tried to feel what it tasted like, she found herself not having an answer, it really tasted like nothing really. She kept eating and when she was done went back to her quarters, she didn't fell like doing anything else today.

00

_Revan stepped down on the planet of Dromund Kaas and felt Alek right behind her. They immediately unhooked their lightsabers and started walking towards the valley. They had seen something there they could hardly believe. As they climbed the mountain, she felt Alek's aura shiver with impatience and excitement. She would normally tell him to calm down, but she was even more impatient herself. They all but ran to the top of the mountain and there they lay down on the grass and pulled out their visors. What she saw took her breath away. Thousands of soldiers were moving around the base, she saw huge buildings that probably went underground for who knew how many miles. She saw thousands of ships and fighters and war droids and artillery strike batteries are laying in wait. She did her best not to tremble. The amount of ships they saw had to be nearly twice the amount the Mandalorians had in Malachor V. She turned and saw Alek, his jaw clenched and a firm grip on his lightsaber. He pulled off his visor and told her to check to the north of their position, she did and what she saw drained the color from her face. The entrance to the biggest building in the valley had painted in a blood red color, the ancient symbol of the Sith._

00

Aspyre woke up with a shudder and tried to get up but she rose so quickly she did not see Mission's bed right on top of her and she banged her head against the cold metal. She heard a very loud noise ringing through the whole ship, followed by a very loud moan of pain. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands against her throbbing forehead, trying to reduce the pain. She rolled out of her bed, got up and shakily made her way to the fresher to see how hard she had hit herself.


	9. Pleeeeeeeeeease

Chapter 9

Bastila saw the lush green planet of Dantooine appear in front of the Ebon Hawk. She smiled at the sight of her home planet. Well, technically Talvaria was her home planet but she had only lived there for a few years before coming to Dantooine.

"Ok, we're here" Carth said to nobody in particular.

"Dantooine, I feel like it's been a lifetime since I stepped on its surface when it has really been only a few months" Bastila said with a dreamy voice. "I love it there, peaceful planet, a place of spiritual healing, something I think we could all use."

Aspyre nodded and smiled at her. They were all feeling better after a few days and Mission was already making jokes and playing small pranks on a few of them. One day she had changed Bastila's towel when she went to the fresher with a short hand towel. The sight of Bastila poking her head out the door and yelling at Mission she was a little girl had been enough to make her fall down laughing in tears. She had held the longer towel just out of Bastila's reach and she even managed to snatch it back when she used the Force to get it. In the end she was forced to get out of the fresher naked, wearing only the tiny hand towel and covering her chest with her hands and snatched the towel from Mission. Another day she had rewired the shower to pour cold water when the hot water switch was on and vice versa. She had tricked Carth into believing the swoop's oil was juice… the list was endless. They had tried to put up with her, they really did but by the end of the sixth day they had organized a watch to prevent somebody from actually ripping her lekkus off and choking her to death with them.

The Ebon Hawk landed gracefully on the landing pad. Carth opened the door and was almost ready to head out when Bastila stopped him.

"Carth, I need to speak with the council first, could I please ask of you to stay here at least until I have spoken with them?"

Carth sighed, nodded and fell back to down on his chair.

Bastila thanked him and quickly jogged out of the Hawk and ran to the Enclave. The entire crew went to the main room and they sat down, waiting for Bastila to return in silence. After half an hour, Bastila came running back inside the Hawk and was slightly surprised to see all of them sitting quietly in the table.

"Um, the council has requested an audience with you" she said, eyeing everybody carefully.

Carth looked at her incredulously and raised his eyebrows, Bastila caught his gaze and shirted uncomfortably in her place.

"An audience, that's pretty rare for someone who isn't even a Jedi, what's this about, Bastila?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you, please, just trust the wisdom of the council, Carth" she responded.

Carth snorted but was silent. Canderous merely got up and began to exit the ship, rifle already shouldered. Zaalbar and Mission followed him. T3 began to make another route on the ship and after a while, an annoyed Carth went to cockpit. Aspyre and Bastila left the Ebon Hawk and began to make their way to the council chamber. She tried to calm down and think for common reasons for why the Jedi council wanted to speak with her; she came up with only one. They wanted to thank her for saving Bastila. She frowned at the thought, surely the high and mighty Jedi wouldn't waste their time on her, and maybe they wanted something else. And then it clicked, Bastila had said that the Force was strong in her. Maybe they would train her! A huge smile crept on her face as she kept thinking, she was so absorbed in her own thoughts she did not see a woman coming on to her and tapping her on the shoulder. She felt the touch and turned around, she was about to ask her what could she help her with but before she could finish mouthing the first word, the woman started ranting at her.

"You, Padawan! Why are you not wearing the customary robes of our order? Do you mock our traditions?" she snapped at her. Aspyre tried to find the words but she became nervous and only mumbled. She looked around for Bastila but didn't see her.

"I'm really sorry but I'm not a Padawan, I'm just here with-with-with Bastila" she replied but the woman shook her head.

"You expect me to believe that? If that is some kind of joke I find it immensely offensive" she reprimanded her.

"It's not a joke! I'm really not a Padawan! Bastila said I was Force sensitive and she went to talk with the council and she came back to the ship and she picked me up and she was taking me to talk to the council and then you- yelled at me" she hastily justified herself.

The woman seemed slightly taken aback and she abruptly changed her tone from indignity to apologetic in less than a second.

"Oh, I apologize. My master tells me I tend to be rather impulsive and I just assumed that you were a Jedi, I'm sorry, please forgive me, I must meditate on this. I wish you happy stay on Dantooine."

Aspyre forgave her and smiled at her as she turned and walked to the right side of the enclave. She looked around for Bastila and found her walking towards her. She caught her gaze and made a come-here gesture with her finger. Aspyre obeyed her and she ran towards her, almost colliding with another Jedi carrying a stack of books and datapads. She apologized to him and turned around to find Bastila looking at her with an exasperated look on her face. Aspyre apologized to her and they kept walking towards the council chamber.

It probably had been done on purpose, because the difference between the enclave and the council chamber was outstanding. The door opened and she saw how the ceiling rose several feet into the air. The walls were pushed back and it gave the chamber a huge look. It made it look like a Mandalorian training room. She puzzled herself at the thought, she had never seen a Mandalorian training room before, how did she knew that? She shook her head and kept walking; she had been hanging around Canderous too much she thought, not that it was a bad thing, she added hastily to herself.

She looked at the four shapes in front of her. There was a dark skinned human standing on the right, a tiny little green alien next to him. Aspyre absorbed his entire body and decided she had never seen anything as cute as that in her entire life. She had to fight an impulse to go over and pet him in the head, which would probably be very rude, she thought to herself. Next to him was another human, with light white skin and a very big nose. He had an angry look on his face and Aspyre got a little, just a little bit scared looking at him. And lastly she saw a red Twi'lek with blue rings on his lekkus. The four of them looked at her, like they were sizing her up. She felt her cheeks turn a little red and she tried to calm down before she turned into a bright red glow stick. The Jedi masters looked at her for a moment longer and then the red Twi'lek spoke to her in Basic.

"You must be the one that rescued Bastila, it is appropriate that you are here. We were discussing your rather, special, case. I am master Zhar, next to me is master Vrook, master Vaandar and the chronicler of our academy, master Dorak" he told her.

"My- special case?" she repeated, a confused look in her face.

"Bastila has told us you are strong in the Force, we have considered you for Jedi training" he told her in such a matter-of-factly tone that she actually didn't understood what he had said. Slowly comprehension began to erase her confusion and she felt her jaw drop and her knees shake.

"W-Wh-What!" she half-stammered, half-yelled at them before she placed her hands on her mouth. The four members were slightly surprised at her outburst and Dorak smiled.

"Master Zhar spoke out of turn perhaps, we need unshakable proof of your strong affinity with the Force before we even begin to consider you for Jedi training" master Vrook told her with a uncompromising look on his face.

"Proof? Masters, surely you can feel the energy radiating from this woman. And I have already informed you of the events that occurred in Taris, what more proof could you possibly need?" Bastila intervened on her behalf.

"We all feel the power coming from her, though it is wild and untamed, and now that it has begun to manifest itself, can we safely ignore it?" Zhar asked Vrook. Vrook crossed his arms and stayed quiet.

"Please, oh please I swear I will be a good student! Please teach me how to do all the cool things Bastila does and fight with a lightsaber and protect the people and resolving the conflicts people have and jumping so far like Bastila can and blocking the shots they fire at me and force push the bad guys! I can even meditate already! Please teach me! I will be a good student and I will bow to you and be humble and respect you and never break any rules and I will do anything you ask of me, please, please train me! Pleeeeeeeeeease" she asked them, her hands clasped together, barely being able to contain her excitement. The four masters strained their faces, trying to keep up with the blur of words that she was throwing at them. When she was done, only Vaandar and Dorak had understood what she had said and they both smiled. Bastila shook her head in disappointment and Vrook scoffed at her. Zhar managed to get the gist of what she had said. She really, really wanted them to teach her how to use the Force.

"The council will discuss this, return to your ship for now and we will call you once we have reached a decision" Vaandar told them. "Padawan Bastila, miss Venar, you are dismissed."

Bastila bowed and Aspyre hastily followed her example. They both started walking towards the outside of the enclave and as soon as they closed the door, the four masters heard a very loud "Yay!" coming from the other side of the door. Dorak and Zhar chuckled and they started discussing their situation.

"I think we might have overdone it a little" Dorak commented to his peers.

00

_Revan and Malak were standing in front of an old rock door. Malak moved his mouth, but no sound came out. He kept talking while Revan advanced through the door and went inside. The room was huge, stretching out for several kilometers to each side. Revan walked directly towards the door in front of them and Malak followed, still moving his mouth. He looked rather concerned but his step did not falter. Revan approached the second door and opened it with another wave of her hand. They reached some sort of temple and they both turned their heads sharply towards the exact same point. A black metallic object on the corner of the decrepit temple._

00

Aspyre woke up sweating cold. She wiped her forehead on her sheets and stood up, careful not to hit her head again on Mission's bunk bed. She slowly thought about her latest dream, or vision according to Bastila. After a few minutes she decided she should get up, the council could call her any moment and she didn't want to waste a second. She got up and went to the main room. She found that breakfast was already served and that Mission, Carth and Canderous were eating already. Mission was telling Carth about the planet and Canderous looked like he just wanted to punch her right in the mouth. He stopped eating and rubbed his temples while Aspyre grabbed a plate and sat down next to him.

"Morning" she said to him with a smile on her face.

"Yeah" he grunted back at her.

She grabbed some food and started eating. She saw Carth looking at her but Mission's constant blabbering gave him no room to stop her. She finished eating quickly and went to the fresher. A quick shower and a change of clothes later she went out of the ship. She found Carth waiting for her at the ramp and she greeted him.

Carth saw her as she turned the corner and began to walk down the ramp. She was wearing a red pair of pants with a white shirt and red jacket; she had black boots and matching gloves. Somehow she looked rather childish even with her blaster rifle hanging from her shoulder. She smiled at him and he nodded back.

"Hey, Bastila got up just before you did, she was pale like she had seen a ghost and ran to the council. She told me to tell you that you should go as soon as you woke up" he informed her.

"Thank you Carth, I've better get going, don't want to make them wait" she said with a smile.

"Wait for what?"

"Oh that's right I didn't tell you! It was so cool! I met the council and they started talking about my special case and then they said that they might consider me for Jedi training!" she filled him in with a huge grin on her face. Carth tried to grasp what she had said but he only managed to get Jedi training, he hated when she spoke as fast as Mission but this time he understood enough.

"What! Jedi training? Why would they do that?" he asked her with a shocked look on his face.

She opened her mouth to explain but she turned around and looked at the entrance to the enclave.

"Look, I'll fill you in when I come back, but for now I have to go and meet the council, just wait for me please" she told him and turned around and left. She kept running until she reached the entrance to the council chamber and she did her best to not look like she was desperate to become a Jedi. But then, she reasoned, I am, so why hide it? She opened the door and tried really hard not to skip in front of her masters. She walked towards them and stopped when she was a pair of feet away from them. She smiled and waited for them to speak to her. Something told her that it would be best to let them have the first word.

00

_Revan tried to fight back as best as she could. She used all her might to create a shield around herself but the Emperor's attack was much too fast. His lightning reached her and she felt her badly placed defenses being overwhelmed. She concentrated all her might and managed to pry herself from his electric grasp, barely keeping the lightning a millimeter away from her skin. She saw Alek next to her redirecting the attack back at him, but the Emperor deflected it towards the floor... The metal floor... The metal floor they were standing on. The lightning crept towards them and attacked their feet, Revan felt her concentration dissipate and her shield broke down. Her entire body shook as she felt the lightning ravaging her. She saw with the corner of her eye how Alek was also trying as hard as he could to fight back, but the Sith Emperor was just too strong. He was so strong. It was impossible, he looked even older and weaker than master Vaandar yet he was so strong in the Force he made them look like Padawans. With an extra push of his hands, even more bolts came out of his hands and Revan saw as her vision was blackened. She fell to the ground and saw Alek behind her, still struggling to remain on his feet. The last thing she saw before she fell unconscious was Alek looking directly at her and yelling her name in distress._

00

It had been two weeks since Aspyre had begun her Jedi training; she had progressed through her Force exercises faster than anybody, even she had expected. In only a few days she had been able to lift books and rocks with her mind and at the end of the first week she was pushing boulders and lifting entire book shelves in the library, much to the dismay of the librarian, and she had been banned from the library for one week and only yesterday she managed to regain access. She had progressed really far in her meditating and she rivaled Bastila when it came to strength with the Force. But the one thing that she was progressing at the same speed as the other Padawans was her fighting skills, she could use the Force to move at the same speed and predict to some extent her opponent's moves but whenever she fought Bastila, she found herself always losing against her. It was slightly frustrating but she reminded herself she had only begun training and she would probably be able to stand up to her in a few more weeks. But it was lonely training in the enclave, very few students approached her and she felt like they shunned her away whenever she tried to talk to them. In fact, the only people she found herself talking to were Canderous and Bastila, they would usually talk about the Jedi teachings and Aspyre found herself thinking that they were flawed in some points. When Bastila asked her why she thought that, she gave her a really long explanation about emotions and being complete with the person you're meant to be and many other things that she had actually never thought about before. She must have surprised Bastila with her response because she was biting her lip and was slightly pale. Aspyre took that as a sign of victory and laughed happily, rolling in the grass. She hugged her and planted a big, wet kiss on her cheek. Ever since she had found out she was bonded to Bastila she felt much more comfortable around her, even though Bastila was usually her formal self.

Canderous was busy most of the time killing Kath Hounds, there had been an explosion in their population recently and the settlers were being overrun by their constant attacks. Both he and Carth volunteered for the job and they had been the last few days busy killing as many hounds as they found. Carth had been skeptical at first of having to work with Canderous alone but after the first few encounters even he had to concede that they worked damn well together. Neither had spoken to Aspyre for a few days, on account of them having to camp outside the enclave. The last conversation she had with Carth was when she had managed to pry the story of Saul's betrayal from him. He later regretted telling her that but there was nothing much he could do. Why couldn't she ask him about war stories or something else like she did with Canderous?

Canderous loved Dantooine. Not because of the Jedi enclave and their peaceful Jedi, no, he was actually banned from the enclave after he had called the masters weak pathetic old men and had pretty much insulted the whole order by saying that Revan and Malak were the only good Jedi that the order had trained. He loved Dantooine because of the huge amount of things that he could kill there. There was no law, nobody to get in his way and they were actually _thanking _him for killing the damn beasts. The only thing that could make it better was if they were paying him, he thought with a smile. He started thinking about another war story to tell the kid when she came to him. There was a 120% chance that she would ask him to tell her another story. He racked his brains for a few minutes and then figured it would be rather funny to tell her about the Mandalorian wars. He chuckled at the thought of the Jedi frowning at him as he told her about Revan's glory and all that.

00

Four more weeks had passed and Aspyre's training had more than doubled. She felt exhausted most of the time but she could not falter. She could not disappoint them, she had practically begged them to accept her into the order and she could not let them think they had done a mistake. Today, however she felt with renewed energy, she had trained for hours with one of the practice lightsabers they had for advanced students and she felt ready to challenge Bastila one more time. She found her in the training room, speaking with another Padawan. Bastila felt Aspyre approach and smiled at her but the Padawan simply sighed and left. Aspyre noticed this but didn't let it bother her. She smiled at Bastila and showed her the lightsaber she had managed to borrow. Bastila smiled at her and shook her head.

"Fine, it you want another lesson why not?" she asked with a smirk on her face.

"Oh I got a few more tricks up my sleeve, I think you will be surprised this time" she responded.

"Well, 28th time's the charm right?"

"Hey, we both know the one on the Ebon Hawk's hangar doesn't count, you got lucky Mission popped her head in!"

Bastila laughed and turned on her double bladed lightsaber. She slightly crouched and saw Aspyre turn on her green lightsaber. Bastila tightened her grip and let the Force flow through her entire body, enhancing her muscles, sharpening her synaptic connections and raising her senses to new levels. She saw Aspyre do the same and she knew that should they be fighting for real, no holds barred, she would be in trouble, but both girls had set rules after Aspyre used the Force to pin her to a wall and tickled her for hours until she had nearly fainted from the lack of oxygen. No Force powers were allowed except to pull back their swords should they lose them in the fight. She saw Aspyre move her right foot forward and her left move back, turning sideways and holding her lightsaber pointed at Bastila at shoulder's height. With a quick flick of the wrist Aspyre pushed all the obstacles away from them, she pushed the mattresses towards the walls and she lifted all the gear and carefully placed it outside the room. Bastila focused on their bond and send the words "show off" into her brain. She laughed and responded with her own bratty comment.

"I am not a princess!" Bastila snapped at her, trying her best to look offended and failing miserably at it, it was probably the large grin she had in her face. She liked it. She liked training with Aspyre, spending time with her. She enjoyed it so much she had begun to ignore the tiny warnings her mind gave her occasionally and allowed to think of Aspyre as a friend, something she had been skeptical to do at the beginning.

Aspyre laughed even louder and they attracted a few looks. About three Padawans were standing outside the room in the courtyard, watching the two of them as they faced off, and with lightsabers no less. Bastila saw them and rolled her eyes in annoyance. They would probably bother her for days after this, she mentally reminded herself to do her best to not humiliate Aspyre... very much. She felt as their bond was suddenly cut off when Aspyre blocked her mind to her. Bastila did the same thing and adopted a position similar to her. Not mimicking her, but rather striking at the gaps in her defenses. Both girls smiled widely and after a few more seconds of tensing the atmosphere for the bystanders, Aspyre used the force to lunge herself at Bastila.


	10. Hummed In Her Hands

Chapter 10

Bastila raised her lightsaber when she saw Aspyre flying to her at full speed. She managed to block the rather anticipated move and found herself unable to do anything else. Aspyre was pushing down with all her might at her and despite her smaller size, she packed quite a punch. Bastila shifted her feet and side stepped her, but she anticipated the moved and disengaged her blade. She jumped in the air as Bastila swiped at her feet and slashed a few more times at her, testing her defenses. Aspyre had already figured a pattern to her method of blocking, but when she tried to capitalize on it, Bastila managed to switch to another form. Aspyre suddenly knelt down and Bastila's lightsaber swiped the air on top of her. She kicked her on her shin and pushed her back. Bastila took a few more steps away from her and smiled despite the slightly tingling she felt crawling up her leg. Aspyre took a few steps back too and they slowly circled each other, waiting to see who made the first move. With the corner of her eye Bastila saw that they had attracted quiet a crowd and about a dozen Padawans were watching the fight. Bastila charged and brought down one end of her lightsaber on Aspyre, who lifted her own and blocked it. She quickly pulled away and brought the other end upwards to her lightsaber, Aspyre had not expected this move and she quickly somersaulted out of the way, she flipped in the air a few times and landed gracefully a few feet away from her, her long mane flowing just like she did and landing down with her, covering her shoulders as she raised her head to look at Bastila.

Aspyre did her best to keep up, Bastila was fighting more seriously now and she pulled quite a few moves she had never seen before. She saw Bastila running towards her and she ran away, towards the wall. Bastila had clearly not expected this but kept charging at her, she would try to pin her against the wall and then she wouldn't be able to do anything. Aspyre kept running and picked up speed when she was near the wall. She jumped and with all her strength kicked the wall and jumped on top of Bastila, she however, managed to see what she was doing and turned around on mid step, turning her back on her. Aspyre kept flying through the air and landed behind Bastila, or rather she would have if she hadn't turned around. She swiped at her and Aspyre managed to lift her green blade to block the strike. The strength of the impact pushed her back a little bit and she managed to regain her balance before another of Bastila's slashes forced her to jump out of the way.

Bastila managed to stop the blade before it cut straight through the floor and saw Aspyre a few feet away from her. She was sweating; the girl had clearly practiced since the last time they fought. Bastila smiled and pushed the Force towards her legs and arms and in less than an second had brought down her blade on top of Aspyre's head. To her surprise, Aspyre did the same and she blocked her attack with great efficiency. Bastila unleashed a rapid flurry of strikes meant to drive her on the defensive, thing they did, rather effectively. She saw a tiny gap on her defense, just when she turned her hand to block her left swing, a tiny spot under her elbow. She aimed for it, but Aspyre was one step ahead of her. She lowered her lightsaber and not only stopped the blow, but also pushed her down against the floor. Bastila did her best to stop both lightsabers, and managed to stop before they sliced through the floor.

"If they ask us about the floor I'll say it's your fault!" she told her, sweat running down her neck and chest. Aspyre laughed but kept pushing down and soon her blade was only a millimeter away from the floor.

"_Master Vrook is going to yell at me for hours if I scratch that floor" _she thought. Bastila held her blade there for a second and then did the only thing she could think off; she turned that side of the saber off. She hoped the maneuver would throw Aspyre off balance and give her enough time to turn it back on, but instead of tripping forward like she had hoped, Aspyre pulled her blade away and slashed immediately. Bastila's eyes widened and she moved her blade against her. They remain locked like that for a few seconds. She was going to turn on the other end of her saber when she saw that Aspyre had pushed her into an awkward position and if she turned on the other end, she would cut off her own leg. Gritting her teeth, Bastila started to move her leg out of the way but she lost her balance and fell down on the ground. Aspyre yelped in surprise and went headfirst on top of her. She was about to cut off her arm, but she managed to move her lightsaber out of the way. Aspyre landed on top of her and they laughed merrily, like little girls who accidentally discovered a new game together.

Aspyre turned off her lightsaber and stood up; she offered Bastila a hand and helped her up. Both girls took a step back and turned on their light sabers. Bastila was tired, how long had they been fighting? She decided it was time to end it and she began striking at her again, left, right, left, right, left, right, fake left, uppercut, and she slowly started pushing Aspyre against the wall. She saw the look of desperation on the girl and she pushed even harder, determined to end the fight for good, but Aspyre held her ground and tenaciously blocked her attacks, occasionally sending a strike of her own every now and then. They moved all across the room, the fought in the center, they jumped off walls, they fought in the corners and Bastila had even once jumped up to the roof, only to kick off it and come crashing down against Aspyre. That move had thrown her off balance, and she had managed to pin her down on the ground with the brutality of the assault, but Aspyre had managed to press her knees on Bastila's chest and push her off her.

Aspyre felt as her grip on her lightsaber faltered, she was very tired, she could barely feel her fingers gripping the metal handle and did her best to block the barrage of attacks Bastila unleashed on her. She saw as she slashed at her with the lightsaber equivalent of a bitch slap and she felt her lightsaber fall to the ground. She saw Bastila smile and she brought her lightsaber next to her face, obviously as a fake threat, but Aspyre reacted without thinking. She did not have time to think, her brain did not realize that Bastila was only playing with her, and it reacted out of the instinct to protect its own existence. She brought her hand up to block the blow.

Bastila's eyes widened and her moth fell open when she saw Aspyre's hand darting up, she couldn't stop the blade, it was less than a millimeter away from her finger, and she would cut them off! To Aspyre's, Bastila's and all the other people watching the fight, surprise the blade did not cut cleanly through her fingers but rather clashed against them and bounced back slightly. Bastila felt her jaw open even more. What had just happened? She saw Aspyre slap the lightsaber away from her with a smile on her face. Bastila turned her gaze to her, she tried to speak but Aspyre grinned at her and threw a quick jab at her face, she instinctively blocked it with her lightsaber and again, it bounced back when it touched her fingers.

"What are you doing?" she asked her in unreserved alarm as she kept throwing punches at her, which she clumsily deflected with her lightsaber. "HOW are you doing it?"

Aspyre smiled and shrugged, and kept punching her, so far Bastila kept blocking them, but a lightsaber was not made for hand to hand combat and after deciding she felt fortunate today she grabbed one blade with her right hand and the other with her left hand and she pulled, ripping the lightsaber from Bastila's unsteady hands. She looked down in shock and saw how the blade hummed in her hands. She moved her hands and she felt it. She felt the energy coming off the lightsaber and she felt as her hand pushed back and prevent it from cutting through her fingers. She stayed like that for a few seconds and looked back at Bastila who was still staring at her hands. Aspyre freed her left hand and touched the power button. The lightsaber went silent and for a second the stillness filled the space between the two of them. Bastila shakily grabbed her hands and started to check them. There was nothing. Nothing! She had seen her lightsaber hit her fingers and she had seen her hold it by the blades. Those blades were made of pure energy! How could there be nothing! Bastila did her best to comprehend what had just happened but she couldn't. Aspyre grabbed her hands and smiled at her. Bastila however, did not return the smile, her mouth was wide open and she did her best to find the words to ask her.

"How?" she managed to mutter.

"I don't know, I just did it, and luckily it worked or you would've chopped up my poor fingers right off!" she said with a grin on her face.

They both felt a presence behind them and they turned around, to their shock there was at least thirty Jedi watching them in admiration. Aspyre felt her face turn a glowing crimson color and she grabbed Bastila's hand for support. Bastila did her best to regain her equanimity and she opened the door that led to the bedrooms rather than through the crowd of Jedi staring at them and they hurried back to the Ebon Hawk. They tried to avoid the curious gazes directed at them and Aspyre kept her gaze on the ground as Bastila led her to safety. They reached the Ebon Hawk and Bastila quickly led her to the girl's bunker. They sat down on Bastila's bed in silence for a moment and Bastila was the first to break the silence.

"You got me really worried when I saw you hand darting up" she spoke in a shaky voice.

"I'm sorry Bastila. I simply reacted I didn't see my hand go up until your blade hit my fingers" she explained to her.

"I don't understand what happened. What did you do?"

"I'm not sure; I think it was a variant of the Force Shield. At the beginning I was creating a shield around myself to push the blade back, I think. But when I grabbed it I was no longer pushing the energy away. I was… I think I was absorbing the energy."

"Absorbing?"

"Yes. I actually feel a little stronger than before you disarmed me. I think… I think I was feeding off your lightsaber and using its energy to regain my strength."

"I had never heard of something like that before" Bastila admitted.

"Neither had I. It was pure instinct."

Bastila nodded absentmindedly and after a few more minutes she hugged her. They stayed like that for a few minutes and they felt as their breaths normalized and their bodies began to cool down. Both girls were exhausted and they laid down on the bed and quickly fell asleep, their faces only centimeters apart from each other.


	11. One Death Is Enough

Chapter 11

Aspyre felt a very light zephyr caressing her face. She felt as the warm current traveled through her face and ended up pushing her tiny hairs away from her forehead. It was a steady flow and she found herself enjoying it very much. She felt something warm and very comfortable next her and she snuggled against it. With tremendous effort, she lifted her left hand, grabbed whatever was next to her and pulled it closer to her. She felt the warmth move slightly away from her and she frowned, discontented at the change. She forced herself against it again and felt something poking her nose softly. After a few more pokes she grew curious and she decided to open her left eye to examine her surroundings. She saw a bright brown circle with a black dot looking back at her. She closed it and opened her right eye to try to make sense to the object in front of her. She saw another brown circle staring back at her. She opened both of her eyes and saw Bastila's face, less than a two centimeters away from her face, her index finger touching the tip of her nose. She smiled at her and Aspyre blushed when she realized she had pressed herself against Bastila's body and. She loosened her grip and backed her face a few more centimeters to spare Bastila her foul morning breath.

"Good morning" Bastila told her.

"Morning" she mumbled back. "What time is it?"

"Four in the morning" Bastila told her with a smile on her face. "We've been sleeping for about sixteen hours."

Aspyre tried to get up but felt really comfortable where she was and closed her eyes again. She started to drift back to sleep again but then she heard a tiny voice on the inside of her head.

_"Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. How can you still be tired? We've been all but hibernating here." _Bastila's voice rang in her head.

She groaned and opened her eyes again. Bastila looked at her, much like a mother would look at a stubborn child. She giggled at the motherly look on Bastila's face and got up slowly. Bastila was on her feet in an instant and walked to the fresher. Aspyre went to the main room and saw Canderous thrown on the table, snoring like a rancor, a very attractive rancor that is. She smiled at the sight and used the Force to lift him. Focusing with all her might, she carried him to the men's quarters and saw that Carth was already on his bed and she placed Canderous on the bunk on top. She covered him with the sheets and went to the main room, where she saw Bastila fixing them some breakfast and she helped her.

Aspyre swiftly ate and went to the fresher. She very quickly showered and wore her new white Jedi robes. She went over to Bastila, kissed her cheek and left the Hawk. Her face reddened as she thought, did I just kiss Bastila goodbye? She wondered for a second what it meant. She really, really liked Bastila, which was good now that they were linked, but did she only liked her? She thought for a second on their conversations the past few weeks, she had gotten to know Bastila pretty well, better than anybody else at the enclave actually. Bastila told her about how she was scouted at an early age and her mother had been only too happy to send her away, taking her away from her loving father. She had felt a large amount of emotions coming from her, specially anger and resentment, but also a small amount of love and confusion. She hadn't pried anymore, but she knew that should she ask, Bastila wouldn't say no, not to her. She kept thinking and soon found herself in the center of the enclave. She turned right and headed straight for the library.

It was barely four thirty when she reached the library, she still had a good three hours to review and get ready for her tests. She briskly walked through it and Force pulled all the datapads and scrolls she needed and went to a table. She set them down in perfect order and lifted the first one with her mind, crossing her arms. She made it hover exactly in front of her face and began reading, concentrating only on the text in front of her and ignoring all the other distractions around her.

After a few more hours she checked the time and saw it was eight in the morning, she looked out the window and saw the sun was already high on the sky. She sighed and lifted all the datapads and placed them in the correct order as she walked out the library. She thanked the librarian, who gave her an indifferent look, obviously still resented at her lifting the shelves in order to test her strength. She walked towards the training room and saw that somebody had already fixed the mattresses and placed the gear back in place. She entered and saw that master Zhar was standing at the end of the room. She walked to him, smiled and bowed.

"I heard what you did yesterday. Such a shame that I was not there to presence it, although Master Dorak's description was rather detailed" he told her with a smile on his face.

She blushed and smiled at him.

"I think I can do it again Master, if you would like to see" she told him with a shy voice, only slightly remembering what she had done yesterday.

Master Zhar was silent for a moment and he handed her his orange lightsaber. She grabbed it and turned it on. She gingerly moved her hand and taking a deep breath; she focused on her hands and created a very concentrated energy shield around them. She then focused even harder and created a vacuum around her hands. She closed her eyes and tentatively grabbed the lightsaber by the blade, she felt as the energy from the lightsaber was transferred to her and she kept grabbing and absorbing huge amounts of energy. She opened her eyes and saw Zhar looking at her hands, a very surprised look on his face. She let it go and shut it down, handing it back to him. He took it and stared at her with new eyes. She was silent for a moment and she felt her face turn even redder. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and after a few moments he finally spoke.

"Very impressive, Apprentice. A rather ancient technique you are using, I had only seen it once before on a holocron in Coruscant. Where did you read about it?" he inquired.

"I, uh. I didn't read about it sir. I hadn't planned to do it, it just… happened" she finished lamely.

Zhar looked at her and raised his eyebrows. But said nothing further. Aspyre told him she was ready to begin her tests to become a Padawan. He nodded at her and he told her they would begin by reciting the Jedi code and by checking if she truly understood it.

"There is no emotion…" he said.

_"There is only passion" _she thought involuntarily.

"There is peace" she responded, quieting the strange voice in the back of her head asking why she had said that, where she had read about it. There would be time for questions later.

"There is no ignorance…"

"There is knowledge."

"There is no passion…"

"There is serenity."

"There is no chaos…"

"There is harmony."

"There is no death…"

"There is the Force" she finished.

Zhar nodded cheerfully at her and began to ponder his next question.

"Your father recently died at the hands of a robber. You encounter that same robber a few hours later, wounded and begging for you aide, do you help him? Why or why not?"

Aspyre thought for a moment. She imagined the scenario and the memory of her father's accident came flooding back to her. If she ever found out that somebody had been behind that, well she wouldn't know what she would do. She blinked back stray tears from the sad memory and focused on the question.

"I would heal him and make sure he was safe from any danger. Then I would take him to the planet's authorities and have him jailed for his crime. It is not fair for anyone to receive a violent death, and one death is enough, there is nothing to be gained be adding a second one." she responded finally.

Zhar nodded at her.

"Good, you saw the bigger picture and did not allow your emotions to rule you. That is precisely the Jedi way" he told her with a smile. "Now, go speak with master Dorak and he will get you ready for your second trial."

Aspyre nodded at him and turned around. She walked briskly towards the council chamber and saw master Dorak and master Vaandar speaking with each other. She approached them and waited patiently for them to finish. She waited while master Dorak laughed merrily at something that master Vaandar had said. She clasped her hands together and began twirling her thumbs. She rolled them forward, she rolled them backwards, and she even pounded them together for a full minute. She looked up and saw the two masters still speaking. She grabbed her hair and started playing with it, slapping the tips, twirling it with her finger and slowly passing her fingertips through it. After a few more minutes she was growing exasperated and sat down on the floor in front of them. They paid her no attention and were seemly absorbed in their own world. She looked back at the training room and saw master Zhar looking at her. A small something clicked in her head. Patience, she thought. They're trying to get me to lose my temper and become exasperated. She smiled at their game and decided that she would not lose at it. She crossed her legs and began meditating, keeping a close eye on what the pair was saying. She began to close herself to the world outside and in turn, she opened herself. She began to take notice of her inner world, her micro universe, where she ruled, where she was queen and pawn, servant and monarch. She opened the bond between her and Bastila and began talking to her.

_"Bastila?"_

_ "I'm here, what are you doing?"_

_ "Master Dorak and master Vaandar are pleasantly chatting and I'm supposed to talk to master Dorak, but I think that they are doing it in purpose. Probably to teach me the value of patience or something."_

_ "Mmm. And how are you holding up so far?"_

_ "Well, I waited for a half an hour before deciding I should meditate and simply wait for them to tire. If I have to, I will stay here until one of us dies, and master Vaandar has a good 700 years ahead of me" _she thought with a smile on her face.

Bastila's response was exactly what she had expected from her.

_"It is very rude to speak like that of our masters, Aspyre!"_

_ "Oh relax Bastila, you know I'm just joking with you right?"_

She snickered at the thought of Bastila sitting in her bed, frowning at her and trying really hard to send a frown through their bond. Her cute, petite laugh reached the ears of the masters in front of her and they both turned around to face her. She felt them turn and opened her eyes. She saw both masters looking down at her, well Dorak was looking down at her, Vaandar was looking straight at her, and she immediately blushed and smiled nervously at them.

"I hope I'm not interrupting Masters, but master Zhar send me to speak with you, master Dorak" she informed them. Dorak raised an eyebrow and motioned her to stand up.

"You should have told be me sooner Padawan, waiting patiently for things to happen on their own will not always get you were you want to be" he told her. She felt her face blush and she mentally scolded herself, leave it to her to grab a lesson and turn it completely around.

"Yes, master" she muttered.

"Now, master Zhar send you for your second trial, did he not?"

Aspyre nodded at him and he pulled out a case from his pocket and opened it. A bright light shone on his face and he picked up the contents. A blue gemstone, a green one and a yellow crystal were on his hand. Aspyre looked at the blue one and saw her own eyes reflected on it. She stared at it for a long time, entranced by it and did not even listen to whatever it was that Dorak was telling her.

"-class you belong" he finished with a smile, noting her absent look but kindly ignoring it.

She returned to reality and nodded at him, hoping that was enough.

"Very well, first question. You encounter a woman and her child being assaulted by a group of thieves, how do you handle the situation?"

Aspyre thought for a moment on what to say and pictured the scenario.

"I place the assailants on stasis. I check the woman and her child to see if they are fine, then I try to get them to see the error of their ways and take them to the nearest Republic outpost for their sentence should they not promise me to mend their ways."

"Mmm, very well. You travel to a foreign planet and find out that there are hidden Sith in the planet, what do you do?"

"Easy" she responded with a smirk "I make my presence known to them and set a trap by walking straight into one and forcing them to reveal themselves. Then I fight and disarm them and take them to a Jedi temple for purification. If one is not nearby I will tend to them myself."

Dorak was silent for a moment and looked at her, as if trying to see what was going on inside of her.

"You are sent on a diplomatic mission in a hostile planet ruled by a dictator. He tries to kill you during the meetings but you manage to escape. You now have a choice, you take him hostage and force him to surrender his rule and step down, or you can try to speak reason into him, although it is quite possible he will attempt to kill you again should you do so."

"Everybody deserves a second chance, and nobody deserves a violent death, no matter their crime. I would try to speak with him again. But in an isolated room, where we would be alone and there would be no interruptions. Should he refuse to step down or right his wrongs then I would be forced to act to defend the interests of the people, but only if he refuses to listen to reason."

Dorak smiled at her and thought for a moment. He grabbed a crystal from his hand and wrapped his fist around it. He placed his hand over Aspyre's hand and held it there for a few seconds.

"You seem most fit to be a Jedi consular, always seeking to solve problems the peaceful way, but stepping into action when it is needed" he informed her. He opened his fist and the green crystal dropped into Aspyre's hand. She looked at it and did her best to not appear disappointed. Apparently she failed because Dorak took the crystal away from her just as quickly. "But you don't seem to be thrilled about it."

"It's just… I really like the blue crystal, Master" she confessed, blushing.

Dorak smiled at her and shook his head. He grabbed the blue crystal and handed it to her. She looked at him in surprise, but took it nonetheless. He nodded at her and she closed her fist around it and was about to turn around, but stopped and hugged him. He chuckled and patted her in the back, ignoring the fact that it was extremely unorthodox.

"Thank you master" she said with a smile. She turned around and this time she did skip over to master Zhar, her beautiful blue crystal glowing in her hand. She stopped in front of him and showed him her crystal. He nodded with a smile on his face and motioned her to the workbench. He informed her she would have to build her own lightsaber and showed her all the necessary components. She examined them and saw that with the components at hand she would be unable to create a double bladed one, which is what she wanted. She asked Zhar if there were more parts, but he shook his head, so she returned to her work and began to place the pieces together.

Aspyre did not know for how long she had worked, her legs were sore and her finger tips were red from rubbing and twisting and forcing pieces together. She had figured a way around her dilemma. Using the knife she was supplied she carved another opening right under the main lens emitter and added another lens emitter opposite of it. She forced another hole open and placed another activation switch in her light saber. She kept working and after a while she finished inserting her crystal and closed it shut. She turned to Zhar and looked at him gingerly. She pressed the ignition button and a bright flash of blue filled the room. She watched it for a few more seconds and she saw Zhar nodding in approval. She then grinned and pressed the second button and another flash of light appeared from the other end. Zhar had clearly not expected that and she saw a look of surprise on his face. Her smile widened and she handed it to him. He took it, never taking his eyes off her. He ignited both ends and swung it a few times, testing it.

"Very, very impressive Padawan Venar" he told her with a proud smile on his face. "A rather creative solution to you predicament."

Aspyre reddened and thanked him. He handed it back to her and she hooked it to her belt. She bowed to him and waited for him to tell her what her next test was. He sighed and his smiled vanished, returning to his serious demeanor.

"The threat of the Dark Side is ever present, you must be always vigilant and prevent it's tendrils to ever reach you. Even here the Dark Side is present, a taint has appeared on Dantooine. It has corrupted the Kath Hounds in the area and they have become much more violent than usual. For your third trial, you must find the source of this darkness and eliminate it."

Aspyre wondered for a few second why he was been so vague, surely there was more than just tell her to go fetch the Dark Side taint. She stared at him, a confused look on her face. He stared back at her, silently telling her he was done. She waited a few more minutes to see if perhaps the silence would bother him, but if it did, he did not show it. She sighed, conceding defeat, bowed to him and left. She started to walk out of the enclave and passed though the main garden, she saw Bastila speaking with another Padawan and she patiently waited for them to finish. The Padawan started to leave but caught her gaze, instead of simply snorting at her and turning around he looked at her with awe on his eyes and scurried away, probably to his training. She approached Bastila and started telling her how her tests had gone.

"Can you come with me?" she asked her, hoping she would say yes. It would be much easier finding the taint if Bastila was with her. To her dismay, Bastila shook her head.

"I'm sorry Aspyre, but this is your test and nobody from the Jedi order is allowed to help you with it" she informed the distraught girl. She turned her head and made sure that there was nobody around, and after a few seconds she focused on their bond and finished her statement "_but not all of our companions and members of the Order, are they?"_

Aspyre's face light up and she smiled at her. She thanked her and began running towards the Ebon Hawk but bumped headfirst into something rock-solid when she turned the first corner, she fell down and looked up at whatever unyielding pillar of stone was in front of her, seriously, six weeks in the enclave and she still didn't remember the layout. She saw the pillar in front of her and a smile crept on her face when she recognized Davik's purple armor. She stood up in a flash and a familiar face turned to see her, more than a little annoyed.

"Damn it, watch where you're going kid! You're gonna bump into Malak one day and he's not gonna be as pleasant as I am" Canderous growled at her.

She smiled and giggled at his comment, which only served to infuriate him even more.

"Hey, I'm supposed to go and find some Dark Side taint in the planet, which probably mean that I'm go run into some Kath Hounds, do you want to tag along? She asked him biting her lower lip and with a big grin on her face.

Canderous' face light up and she immediately knew he was game.

"What are we waiting for?"

She smiled and moved her head towards the exit. They headed out together and she soon felt a thought creeping into her.

_"Attachments Aspyre!" _Bastila scolded her.

She mentally nodded sarcastically and looked at Canderous, imagining all sorts of steamy scenarios with him and forcefully sending them into Bastila's head. After a few seconds of images filling both their brains, Bastila scolded her and shut off her end of the bond. Aspyre laughed out loud and kept walking. She saw the huge plains of Dantooine in front of them, just outside the enclave and she felt a very eerie sense of déjà vu.

They were about to leave when a man approached them.

"You're a Jedi right?" he asked her hastily.

She was slightly taken aback but she quickly recovered.

"I'm still in training sir, but if I pass my current test then I will become a Jedi" she told him with a bright smile. The man threw her a venomous look and she her smile faded.

"How long are you people gonna sit in your enclave meditating and discussing? While you are comfortably living in there, we're torn to shreds by the Kath Hounds and Mandalorian raiders!" he protested to her. She gasped and the man continued. "My daughter… my daughter, she was killed by those savages! Please, help me avenge her and I will reward you, please just make sure those animals pay!" Aspyre looked at the man, unsure of what to say, she turned to Canderous, half expecting him to be aiming his rifle at the man but to her surprise he was impassively looking at him.

"You should have protected her better. And you call yourself her father" he told the shocked man.

"And what am I supposed to do against a dozen Mandalorians and Duros? There was nothing I could do. She… They came for our crops, and she refused. They killed her in cold blood! I ask of you, Master Jedi, please aid me! Find those Mandalorian beasts and put them down!"

"They are not Mandalorian! Stop calling them that! They are deserters! They disgrace the name of my beloved Mandalore! If by chance we happen to find them, then we will kill them, but don't get your hopes up" he told him with more than a little irritation in his voice.

The man looked in shock at Canderous, surprised to find he was a Mandalorian, but after a few seconds he nodded at him and Canderous grabbed Aspyre by the arm and led her away from there. She tried to speak but she sensed that Canderous was not in a conversational mood at the present moment and simply kept quiet, waiting for him to cool down. After a few more feet he released her arm and stopped walking, looking at the ground.

"Canderous are you ok?" she asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He shook his head and raised his gaze to the afternoon sky. He saw a flying creature above them, so huge it didn't even seem to notice the events going on under it.

"Those bastards" he spoke grimly "are the reason that people think of us as bloodthirsty savages that kill for pleasure. Because of those bastards" he spat out the word "people think that we are nothing but murderers, rapists and violent brutes. They know nothing of the Mandalorian code of honor. They know nothing of our ways and yet, because of them; we have suffered humiliation we may never be able to shake off our shoulders."

Aspyre was silent, taking a moment to process what she had just heard. She understood the pain that Canderous must be feeling. Honor was just as important, if not even more important, to Mandalorians as if was to Wookies, and Wookies were insufferably honorable to begin with. She pulled at his shoulder and forced him to face her; she took a step towards the surprised Mandalorian and hugged him tightly, resting her head on his chest.

"I know you are nothing of that sort, our friends know that you are so much more than just a warrior. You are not a bloodthirsty savage, you might be a warrior yes, but you are also a teacher, a storyteller, a planner, and a wordsmith too. I know how hard this must be for you, but I promise you, I will do all I can to change what people think of Mandalorians. I think we already started with that man. Ten minutes ago he used to think that the Mandalorians were nothing but murderous scum, but when he asked for help he found an honorable one, a brave one, and I think he will forever remember you, and your clan, Clan Ordo, for that" she reassured him. Canderous was silent and they stayed like that for a few minutes. He placed his hand on her back and rubbed it softly twice, which had to be his equivalent for "Thank you so much, I really appreciate what you have said and I cherish you wanting to cheer me up."

"We should go" he told her firmly. She separated herself from him and they both started walking down the plains.

00

Carth had just finished re-assembling his blasters. He had added a shiny new scope and an enhanced power cell he found on Canderous' stash. Bastila had left the Hawk a few hours ago to do something Jedi-y; Mission was taken a shower, having just woken up from her late morning nap. She said she wanted to be fresh for her early afternoon snooze. Zaalbar had been watching the Jedi train and had just returned to eat and Canderous had left since the morning and nobody had seen him. He was bored. What was he supposed to do? Aspyre had her Jedi training and apparently they could not leave until she was done with it. He had already helped a lot of people and had taken all the jobs they had offered him. Finding a missing droid, clearing a path through the Kath Hounds, helping a Jedi resolve some murder investigation and looking out after Mission. Talk all she might but the Twi'lek was still a child, she got into all sorts of trouble and it was usually Carth's or Zaalbar's responsibility to get her out of them. He sighed and went back to him room, might as well go to sleep and enjoy the peace for as long as it lasted, after the left Dantooine it would be a while until he had another chance to be bored like this.


	12. Just Like Aspyre

Chapter 12

Aspyre sliced the head of the fifth Kath Hound that attacked them. Canderous pressed himself against her back and fired a volley of blaster bolt against the three Kath Hounds running towards them, and the three of them died instantly. He shouldered his rifle and they kept walking south, where Aspyre had felt whatever it was she was supposed to find. Canderous looked at Aspyre, the little girl was tired that much he could see, her eyes were half closed and she slightly dragged her feet. They had been fighting for about one hour, running from Kath Hounds, killing Mandalorians, but despite it, she did not fail when it came to fighting, he had yet to see her slip in combat, which proved that despite her childish and immature nature, she had the heart of a warrior. She was pretty good with that double bladed glow stick of hers and with her Force powers she had proved to be a force to be reckoned with.

Aspyre felt Canderous' gaze on her and she blushed slightly, she tried to calm herself, but the effort of keeping her bond closed, using the force to boost her already exhausted muscles and her constant placing beasts in stasis and Force lifting them was beginning to take its toll and she couldn't do much else than focus on the fight. She decided to forget the bond and she used her remaining concentration to lower her body temperature and resume the regular flow of her blood. As soon as she opened her bond she felt all of Bastila's thought flooding to her.

"-so different. I can hardly believe it, Masters, she has truly changed, and her soul is extremely pure. She has a heart of gold, surely you have seen it too?"she heard Bastila asking her masters.

_"Bastila? Are you talking about me?" _she asked her.

She felt a huge wave of worry and nervousness crashing over her. For a second Bastila closed her side of the bond and when she reopened it she felt very angry.

_"Aspyre! Are you eavesdropping on my conversations!" _she angrily inquired.

_"Sorry I was just going to tell you that we weren't going to make it back to the Hawk tonight, so we're probably gonna camp here. You might want to close your side of the bond at night, how knows what might happen here"_ she thought with a smirk on her face.

_"Aspyre don't you dare even think of doing anything with Canderous, you return to ship as soon as your test in done!"_ she ordered her.

Aspyre mentally sent her a wink and closed her side of the bond. She looked at the sky and calculated they probably had about an hour of sunlight left. She picked up the pace and soon she felt as the dark side was growing in strength, she felt its tendrils reaching out to her and she blocked them with all her might. She pushed it back and forced it to retreat into a small grove. She saw it and she ran towards it. Canderous followed her but stopped when he saw a large pack of Kath Hounds running towards them, about nine or ten closing in on them. He looked back where Aspyre was running and cursing, realized it was a dead end. He placed down his pack, aimed his rifle and started firing at the beasts, taking quite a few before they spilt and came at him from two sides.

Aspyre saw him and was about to return to help him but she soon saw a red flash darting towards her. She pulled out her lightsaber and ignited both ends, lifting her blade and blocked the slash. The attacker somersaulted back and landed a few feet away from her. She saw the assailant's face and realized the woman was a Cathar. With the corner of her eye she saw the Kath Hounds closing in on Canderous. She grew nervous and realized he might need her help dealing with them. She decided she would need to incapacitate the dark Jedi quickly and run over to help Canderous. She lunged at her and began slashing at her. She imitated Bastila's movements and began her assault, left, right, left, right, left, right, left, fake right, uppercut. She saw the Cathar's defense falter and she managed to push her against the stone wall. She landed a solid kick on her chest and made her crash against the granite hedge. She turned around and saw Canderous fighting the large pack with his knife. She saw one of the hounds biting him in the leg and she felt a "No!" escaping her lips, and she used the Force to speed up her movements. In less than a second she was next to him and slashed at the hound's head, with another slash she cut off the legs of another hound and threw her lightsaber at another hound. The saber was returning perfectly to her when she saw the Cathar throwing her lightsaber at her. She used all of her might to push the saber back and managed to grab hers before she attacked again.

The Cathar was however, too close to her. She grabbed her lightsaber and kneed her on her stomach with full momentum, sending her flying a few feet. Canderous was still busy fighting the hounds, but the Jedi paid him no attention. She advanced towards her and she barely managed to lift her blade to block her attack. The Cathar was furiously slashing at her and she was too tired to keep up the game, she allowed tiny openings in her defense with the hope that she would notice and try to- yes! She kicked her on her chest and she was pushed back creating enough space for her to focus, she ignored the pain and used all of her might to place the Cathar on stasis. She ran back towards Canderous and killed two more Kath Hounds while Canderous drove his knife on the head of the last one. Still focusing on the woman, she ran towards her and she destroyed her lightsaber and then released her from stasis. Canderous was next to her and aimed her rifle at the Cathar.

"You are strong, even stronger than me, in my darkness" the Cathar admitted.

"Who are you?" she asked her.

"I am Juhani, this is my grove, when I embraced the darkness this became my place of power, this place is mine, mine!" she growled at her.

Canderous' finger slightly squeezed the trigger.

"Why did you embrace the darkness, Juhani?"

"The Jedi were holding me back, after I killed my master I came here and decided they were not worthy of being followed."

"Please Juhani don't say that, the Jedi have their flaws, but so does everything, don't turn your back on them or you will be forever lost."

"Ha, you know nothing human!" She spat out.

"I know enough Juhani. Please come back to enclave, I am sure that they will forgive you I you show you are truly sorry."

Juhani looked at her for a second with only a tiny hint of regret and sadness in her eyes and snarled.

"I am not sorry."

She stretched out her hand and sent a huge wave of lightning towards Aspyre and Canderous. Aspyre felt again the horrible embrace of the Dark Side and started screaming, she fell down on the floor and saw Canderous on his knees, his teeth shaking. She used all her might and created the same vacuum around herself she had before and she started absorbing all the energy being thrown at her. She regained some of her strength and she managed to place the Cathar again on stasis. Canderous got up and before she could stop him he fire a single bolt at the alien. The bolt hit her forehead and Aspyre saw as in slow motion, her forehead slowly began to give and the bolt went through it. It emerged from the other end and kept flying, finally colliding against the rising hill and she saw as her eyes turned from the bright yellow to a pale grey as all life was lost from them.

She gasped and she felt her concentration falter and the lifeless body dropped to the ground, dead. She slowly got up and walked towards the lifeless Cathar. She placed her hand on her eyes and closed them respectfully. She fixed her eyes on Canderous, who simply looked over to her indifferently. She felt her eyes get wet and tears fell on the Cathar's face. She pulled herself together and using the Force, she lifted the dead body and started to walk towards the Enclave, the last rays of sunlight illuminating the way. Canderous silently walked behind her and they were halfway there when he finally spoke.

"You tried kid, she was the one who wouldn't listen to reason." he reassured her. At that point she remembered his leg and slowly placed Juhani in the ground, she turned to him and found it was no longer bleeding; she got on her knees next to him.

"Let me see" she said softly. Canderous rolled his eyes and lifted his pant leg. She saw that the bite had already healed and was simply another scar on his body.

"I got really worried about you when I saw…" she started, but he stopped her.

"Don't sweat it kid, it will take more than a few dogs to put me down, beside, you had your hands full with the alien, you should have focused on her instead of helping me, you could have gotten yourself killed and then she would have killed me easily" he told her with a very teacher-like tone. Aspyre felt herself redden for what was probably the twelfth time, in the same day and stood up, nodding at him. She picked Juhani again and kept walking towards the enclave. They walked together towards the center of the enclave and there they parted ways, Canderous went walking towards the Enclave and she went to the council chamber, carrying Juhani's body after her. She drew the looks of a few Jedi, but ignored them and she opened the door to the chamber. The four masters turned to look at her and saw the teary Aspyre walking down towards them, the dead body of Juhani floating behind her. She bowed to them and she placed the body in front of her. She knelt down beside it and grabbed the remains of the red lightsaber, she stood up and handed it to master Vrook. The masters looked at each other and Dorak motioned her to tell them what had happened. She organized her thoughts and began to tell them the story from the moment she spoke to Canderous and she felt as the tears began to form in her eyes and drop to the ground as she reached the part in which she saw him being bitten in the leg. She told them how she ignored her fight with Juhani to help him and how that had led to her shocking them both. She told them how she had created a vacuum to absorb the energy Juhani threw at them and how she placed her on stasis and Canderous shot her in the head. She tried to speak after that but the words did not reach her throat, she collapsed on the ground and began crying softly. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she saw the sympathetic look of master Zhar kneeling next to her. She looked at him and did her best not to sob, but one escaped her and she found herself hugging him tightly and asking for his forgiveness for her failure. She asked them to blame her and not Canderous, for it had not been his fault; it was his instinct and she kept placing the blame on herself for not being strong enough to safe Juhani. Zhar simply patted her back and waited until she calmed down. After a few more minutes she began to cry more slowly and her breath stabilized somewhat. Zhar let her go and stood up, she did the same and found that Juhani was no longer there, and neither was Vaandar.

"Your failure with Juhani was regrettable, but nothing can be done about that now" Vrook stated at her like he was talking about the weather. Aspyre winced when he said that but he continued calmly. "Hold her example on your mind and be forever vigilant so that the same thing does not happen to you."

Aspyre nodded and asked if she could go back to the Hawk. Vrook and Zhar nodded and she slowly began her way back to the Hawk. She saw the same Jedi that had approached her six weeks ago nagging her about her outfit... Belaya, she thought, was that her name? She was furious and she stormed towards her. Aspyre stopped where she was and waited for her, unsure of what to do. She stopped mere centimeters from her face and Aspyre did her best not to flinch when she started yelling at her face.

"You, why did the council had to send you? Of all the Jedi, why you?" she angrily asked her.

"I-I-I. I'm really sorry I didn't mean to kill her! I really tried to talk to her but she wouldn't listen to me, please believe me! I never wanted-" she apologized at the woman, tears welling up on her eyes again. The woman looked at her furiously and interrupted her apology by bringing her open palm against her face with all her might. Aspyre fell to the ground and stayed there like the miserable being she felt she was. She deserved it. She had been appointed a task and had failed. She began sobbing on the ground uncontrollably and the Jedi woman screamed at her again.

"You didn't even try did you? You simply killed her because that was what was convenient for you!"

"No! Please, I didn't, please, forgive me! I didn't want to hurt her!" the girl sniveled in her fetal position.

"Damn you! Damn you and damn the council for sending you! The Juhani I knew deserved more than you! She deserved more than what the council did for her!" she yelled at her before kicking her in her stomach. Aspyre whimpered and she saw the woman turning around and leaving the enclave. Aspyre stayed in the floor, unwilling to get up, sobbing quietly and holding her aching abdomen. She heard footsteps walking quickly towards her. She didn't bother to turn around and soon felt two firm hands grab her by her shoulders and lift her. She managed to recognize the face of Carth Onasi as he exanimate her reddened cheek. She felt a burning sensation on her right cheek and she tensed when she felt his hand on her face. He grabbed hold of her and took her back to the Ebon Hawk. They sat down on the main room and he placed an ice pack one her face. He grabbed her hand and made her hold the ice pack in place.

"Who did this to you?" he asked her with a barely controlled anger.

"I deserved it Carth. I failed" she replied.

"What do you mean you failed?" the confused pilot inquired.

"I was tasked with removing a taint in the plains of Dantooine. I took Canderous with me and we found it. It was a dark Jedi, a female Cathar. A large pack of Kath Hounds attacked us and Canderous fought them while I fought the Jedi. I was weak, I was unable to defeat her and instead I turned my back on her and helped Canderous. She began to shock us both. I managed to place her on stasis and Canderous shot her. I was weak" she told him with an empty look on her face.

Carth was silent for a second and thought on what to say.

"It wasn't you fault Aspyre, Canderous killed her, not you. Why do you take the blame?" he asked her.

"It wasn't his fault Carth; I never told him that I didn't plan on killing her. Besides if I had been stronger that would not have happened."

"That is not true and you know that. Everybody fails at some point Aspyre, and it is not because they are not strong or brave or smart enough. It's simply because you can't rescue everybody" he kindly explained to her. She looked at him and placed the ice pack on the table. She opened her mouth but he simply shushed her and hugged her. She returned the hug and he stood up. "I expect you to understand this soldier; I will not have you taking the blame for something that wasn't your fault. That is an order" he stated in his most formal tone. She looked shocked at him, but managed to grasp what he was doing, she shakily smiled at him and placed her outstretched fingers on her forehead and saluted him. He nodded and turned towards his bunker.

She got up and did the same. She sat down on her bed and took off her robes. Her brand white new robes were ragged and colored red with Kath Hound blood. She threw them angrily in a corner and wrapped herself on her sheets. She saw Bastila was already sleeping and that Mission was sleep talking. She ignored her and quickly fell asleep, hoping that she would forget tomorrow what had happened today.

00

_She stood on the edge of a cliff so high she could actually see the planet's round shape. The sun slowly crept towards the horizon, not a single cloud in the entire sky. This planet already had few clouds, but today the sky was complete clear. She felt the strong breeze pushing her away from the edge and she felt as it ruffled her long hair, lifting it and making it flow. It reached her middle back now. She liked it very much that way. In a few more years her hair would be almost as long as her mother's. She smiled at the thought of that wonderful woman, but her smiled died shortly when she remembered the news of Deralia. She sighed and sat down on the ledge, dangling her feet over the hundreds of kilometers between herself and the ground. She heard slow but steady footsteps coming to her. She turned around and saw Alek's tall figure walking towards her. He wordlessly sat down next to her and the both stared as the sun was now only a few feet away from the horizon._

_ "It's not fair" she simply spoke._

_ "No, it's not my love" he responded to her and placed his arm around her._

_ She snuggled next to him and saw how the sun was almost touching the horizon now, a few more minutes and it would be on top of it._

_ "Have you ever thought… have you ever thought about… leaving?" she asked him as she looked up at his eyes. Alek looked down at her with confusion on his eyes._

_ "The war?"_

_ "Everything. Just take as much credits as we can and leave, go to a planet the Mandalorians don't know about and live our lives there, in peace, never having to worry about fighting for our lives, or dealing with galactic tyrants" she clarified to him._

_ "I might have, sometimes, but I know that you would not be happy living that life." She looked at him, the confusion on his eyes having been transferred to her. "We both know that you could not turn away from all these people, Revan. Even if you were offered the chance to run away you wouldn't take it. You would be consumed by the flood of guilt that would wash over you."_

_ She looked at him and slowly nodded. She turned her gaze to the sun and saw it was already starting to hide beneath the horizon. She shifted closer to Alek and hugged him tighter. Together they watched as the sun went down even further._

_ "We have had so many wars, many before we were even born. And many will come after we die. Do you think… do you think that this galaxy will ever know peace?" she asked him._

_ "I think that there is no way to know that. I think that the only thing we can do is try to make it as peaceful as we can during our time and let the future generations take our place."_

_ "… That was very wise my love" she told him with a smirk._

_ He chuckled and softly threw a rock over the ledge and began to count how long it took for it to hit the bottom. After 49 seconds he gave up and stood up. Revan followed him and they returned to the camp as the sun finished hiding._

00

Aspyre woke up early the next day and quickly showered. She went to the main room and had breakfast alone. She was about to leave when she heard a voice calling her from the cargo hold.

"Hey kid!"

She walked towards the voice, not sure if it was calling her or Mission. She reached it and found Canderous standing next to the workbench, a large piece of some metal and a few other components laying on it. She threw him a confused look and he pulled her to him with his finger.

"You're gonna learn how to make a Mandalorian mask" he informedher, not asked her.

"I guess there is no point in telling you that the Jedi council is waiting for me right?"

"Those pacifists made the Republic wait long enough during the Mandalorian Wars; they can wait a few hours for you."

She smiled at him and looked down at all the parts waiting in the table. Canderous motioned over to the big piece of cortosis in the center and told her to cut it to give it the shape she wanted. He told her of all the types of masks and their symbolism, he told her of the difference between creating one type of mask or another. And in the end she settled to create the shield mask, the one Canderous spent quite a long time explaining to her. The mask that represented the strength to withstand anything that the galaxy threw at the wearer and pay it back at it tenfold. Only few Mandalorians wore that mask, due to the fact that it was the hardest one to make and wear in battle as the small eye lines slightly constricted the wearer's vision. She shrugged those tiny details away and started to build it over his careful supervision. He would occasionally correct her, but she mostly appropriately followed his instructions. After an hour the preliminary design was done and the sleek mask stared at her and again the feeling of déjà vu filled her.

"I like it" she said.

"It looks solid. Always remember, the mask does not make the wearer, the wearer makes the mask, so you should not feel any different when wearing it" he advised her. She pondered for a second on what he said and came to the conclusion that he was right, but that was nothing she did not knew. Why did he tell her that? "You want to leave it bare or do you want to paint it?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts. She was quiet for a second and decided she didn't want to wear a pale grey mask.

"Paint it" she said.

He gestured to the side of the workbench and she found six different colors. Dark Red, Camouflage Green, Black, White, Pale Yellow and Bright Blue. She grabbed the white and the blue colors and began painting her mask. She painted the outside of the mask white. She painted two bright blue lines on the sides were the edges of her face would be. She painted the middle white again and drew an inverted trapezoid in front of her nose in blue. She painted the edges of the white eye lines blue and finished painting the top part in white, making sure that everything was covered and the metal did not show.

"You will never paint this mask again. Every hit that it receives, every scratch, you will wear it proudly" he, again, informed her, leaving no room for argument or doubts.

He grabbed it from her hands and placed it on her face; she found that while it did constrict her vision a little, it wasn't that bad. She could see pretty much everything she did before. She looked at Canderous and he smiled at her. He took it off her face and told her to get changed in her white Jedi robes with a grin on his face. She went to her room and obliged, wondering what he was up to. She changed quickly and grabbed her outer coat. She went to Canderous who was still grinning. He placed the mask on her face again, grabbed her hair and placed it over her shoulder. He grabbed her hood and pulled it over her head. She took a step back and his grin grew even bigger. She looked at herself in the metal wall of the Ebon Hawk but failed to grasp what was so funny. Her white cloak fell on top of her face, covering the top portion of her mask. Her blue armored gloves were, not coincidentally, the exact same color as her mask; her white pants covered her top part of her boots, but were not long enough to make her trip should she need to run. What was so funny? She found nothing about her appearance humorous. She crossed her arms and saw Canderous stand straighter and his already impressively wide grin extended to cover the last areas of his face that it had not reached before.

"What's so comical?" she asked him with a frown on her face, forgetting that her mask now covered it.

"Nothing, now go, you wasted enough time here. Remember that mask is part of you, don't take it off unless you absolutely have to" he told her, his face serious again. She nodded and thanked him and left the Ebon Hawk. He grinned and chuckled at the thought of the council seeing her like that. After a few seconds of careful deliberation he thought, "Screw it" and ran after her.

Aspyre saw many Jedi looking at her with widened and confused eyes. She understood if they were surprised of seeing somebody they had never seen before, but really not to this extent. And besides, they could sense her aura, they knew it was her. Why were they acting so weird? She shook her head and kept walking towards the enclave, her cloak lifting in air behind her and gracefully falling down and bumping against her legs and rising again. She walked towards the council chamber and she almost bumped into a younger Jedi Padawan who turned to probably tell her to be careful, or watch her step, but when he saw her, his eyes widened and his hands began to shake, he turned around and ran towards the library. She wondered for a second with a confused look on her face that nobody could see, why everybody was acting so weird, was it her failure with Juhani yesterday? It didn't make any sense to her whatsoever. She reached the door to the council chamber and pressed the release button. She stepped inside and walked towards the masters. They turned to her and a look of sheer horror filled their faces. They looked so scared that for a second Aspyre wondered if there was something behind her; she turned around and reassured that nothing was going to kill her she turned to the masters. She bowed to them and greeted them.

"Good morning, Masters, I have come for the results of my trials" she told them a bit hesitantly.

"Apprentice Venar?" Master Dorak asked her.

"Yes, Master?"

The masters looked at each other and some kind of relief filled their faces. Dorak returned his gaze at her and she could still see something strange in him.

"What is that you are wearing?"

"My robes?" she asked with the same confused look nobody could see.

"The mask" master Vrook stated harshly.

"Oh this? I made it today with one of my companions, I am uncertain if you are familiar with Mandalorian culture, but this is his way of saying "thank you for saving my life yesterday". We built it together this morning" she explained to them. And then it clicked, was that the reason everybody was acting weird, they thought she was a Mandalorian?

"Would you be as kind as to remove it, Aspyre?" Master Zhar requested.

She bit her lip and tried to find the best way to phrase her next statement, hoping it would not offend them.

"I'm sorry, master Zhar, but I am unable to. As part of the tradition I am not supposed to take this mask off unless I absolutely have to. It's for my friend, he is very dear to me and I do not wish to offend him. Please understand, I do not mean for people to think I was a Mandalorian, I assumed that with my robes they would recognize me, but also do not wish to offend him."

The masters looked at each other again and slowly they regained their composure, their faces serene once again.

"Very well. On to business at hand, then. The council has decided that you have passed the trials" master Zhar told her.

"Even though you could have done better" master Vrook reprimanded her.

She winced and for the first time was really glad she was wearing her mask.

"Nonetheless" mater Vaandar continued "the council has seen fit to grant you with the title of Padawan of the Jedi Order."

Aspyre felt her knees shale slightly and even through her mask she was sure that they could see her smiling.

"Oh…Thank you masters! Thank you so much!" she replied with lots of enthusiasm. "I can hardly believe it! I-I thought I had failed for sure!"

"Relax, Padawan, for we have a task for which you must be prepared fully" master Dorak informed her.

She apologized for her outburst and kept quiet. The masters told her she was ready to go explore the ruins she had dreamt about a few weeks before. They told her they had sent a Jedi to explore them last night and he had not returned yet. Crossing her arms, she wondered if the Jedi was okay, she silently prayed that no harm had come to him and nodded at her masters.

"Padawan Bastila will accompany you on this task" master Vaandar informed her and gestured at something at the entrance. Aspyre turned around and she saw Bastila walking towards them. She lifted her gaze from the step she already was familiar with and her eyes landed on Aspyre and she swore she could see her usually calm and peaceful eyes transform into the ones of a frightened schoolgirl. Bastila's step faltered and she stood there, with her jaw open and staring at Aspyre.

"_What is that thing you're wearing?" _she asked her with a trembling inner voice.

_ "My mask? Why does everybody make a big deal out of it?"_

_ "Take it off!"_

_ "I can't, I promised Canderous I wouldn't unless I absolutely had to."_

_ "I will kill him when we get back!"_

_ "Bastila, please stop thinking that will you?" _she asked her kindly with only a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"You may leave as soon as you're ready" master Vaandar told them. They both bowed and left the chamber. Bastila was only slightly shaking now. They walked to the enclave and they saw Canderous sitting in a bench, looking at both of them with a huge grin on his face.

Aspyre walked to him and told him that everybody was looking at her weird and that she felt that wearing the mask in Dantooine had been a bad idea. He shook his head and told her that there was no better place. They were both silent for a minute and Bastila stared at them, she was so angry she could almost feel the smoke puffing out of her ears. Aspyre finished telling Canderous about their mission and he ran back to the Ebon Hawk to get Carth, Mission and Zaalbar. She and the still fuming Bastila went outside the enclave and patiently waited for the rest to return. After a few minutes she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Mission beaming at her.

"Hey, cool mask! Can I get one?" she asked her. Bastila threw her a dirty look but didn't say anything.

"Only if Canderous agrees to teach you."

"I'll teach her when she proves she's a good warrior" he growled at her.

Mission stuck her tongue out to him and turned to look at the plains. Aspyre saw Carth dumbstruck, looking at her like she was a ghost. She paled when she realized. Mandalorian mask, not good! She waved at him, on the hopes that we wouldn't freak out as much as the others. He kept staring at her and slowly made his way forward to her.

"This was your big gift to her?" he asked Canderous with an upset face.

Canderous shrugged at him and told him he wouldn't understand. Carth was about to say something to him, but Aspyre grabbed him by his arm and pulled him away from them.

"I'm sorry Carth, I totally forgot. Look I just don't want to offend Canderous. I know you don't like Mandalorians but please just remember it's me, that shouldn't bother right? Please tell me it won't bother you."

He looked at her like she had just told him the biggest stupidity in the universe. She began to redden and for the second time, she was glad she had her mask.

"Mandalorians? That's not it Aspyre! Don't you know who used a mask just like that?" He snapped at her. She shook her head, she had never seen anybody wearing a mask like hers. She had thought it was original of her. She hoped it wasn't somebody too famous. She didn't want people to think she was copying him or her.

"Revan!" he yelled at her. She felt time stop when her brain processed the sound waves emitted from Carth's vocal cords. Revan. That's what he had said, right? Did she hear him wrong? No, what other name possibly rimed with Revan? But then… She felt her face lose all her color when she realized what she had done. She had spoken to the council like that, wearing that mask. Now it all made sense. Now everything made perfect, horrible, sense. She all but ran towards Canderous and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked him. He grinned at her wide and did his best not to laugh.

"I thought it would be funnier this way. I hadn't planned for you to choose that design though; I just went along for the ride when you did."

Aspyre thought for a moment and smiled, though nobody could see.

"The mask does not make the wearer" she echoed.

Canderous, still grinning, nodded. At that point Mission butted in and grabbed her face. She looked at it from different angles and finally let her go, tapping her lower lip with her index finger, pretending to think.

"It may look like the mask from the Dark Lord of the Sith, but her mask was very ugly, this one is very pretty, just like Aspyre" she said with a smile.

Aspyre laughed at her comment and blushed slightly, and for the third time in the day, she was very glad she was wearing her beautiful Mandalorian mask.


	13. A Shade of Deep Purple

Chapter 13

Aspyre saw the large stone doors that lead to the ruins Revan and Malak had visited many years ago. She stood in front of them, immersing herself in a trance. She saw something break her concentration; Carth, Zaalbar and Canderous were stepping forward towards them. She saw Zaalbar gripping the middle of both doors, Canderous took the right one and Carth grabbed the left one. The three of them nodded and after taking a deep breath they pulled the heavy, ancient doors open. Or rather, they tried. She saw Canderous and Carth turn red with the effort, she saw veins about burst on their necks and she saw Zaalbar's arms trembling with the effort he was making, but the door did not budge. Bastila ordered them to move aside and she focused with all her might, doing her best to pry to doors open, but the doors did not move. Mission looked for a lock or some kind of mechanism, but there was none, it was just to pieces of rock placed together. They all stood quite for a second and wondered what to do. Aspyre crossed her arms and felt as a strong breeze swept her and lifted her cloak, she saw Carth wince and Canderous smiled and she assumed that she must really, really look like Revan. She shook her head and approached the door. She looked it over and tried to see any way of opening but there was truly none. It was nothing more than two solid slabs of rock. She pressed her hand right in the middle and felt the door. It was deadly cold, despite the strong morning sun that was beating down on them. She thought for a moment and realized it had to be filled with the Dark Side of the Force. She concentrated and after a few moments found it, the door's shatter point. She focused on it and using the Force, she waved her hand and pulled the door open. She smiled and turned at her dumbstruck companions. She lifted her thumb as a sign to show them she was smiling and went inside. Bastila shook her head and followed Aspyre into the tomb. Zaalbar and Canderous followed her and Mission cautiously peeked inside and seeing nothing of threat she followed them. Carth was silent for another minute and decided he should go inside to. He took out his blaster and automatically took rear guard. He walked backwards and occasionally turned his head to see at his sides. The tomb was huge, it probably stretched hundreds of kilometers underground. He silently hoped they would not have to search the entire area and quickly reached the rest of the group.

"Can you feel it, Bastila?" Aspyre asked her. Her friend nodded and shivered, for the Dark Side was very strong in that place. It ran though the walls and crept on her skin. It went inside her and made her breath go away. She had to focus to create a mental barrier between her and the area surrounding her. She turned and saw that Mission and Carth were shivering and gasping for breath. Zaalbar and Canderous looked fine however. Aspyre turned and cleared her throat. "I think it would be best if you two waited outside, this place seems to be filled with the Dark Side and you two have a little bit of sensitivity to it." Mission groaned and Carth sighed, but neither of them moved. She frowned at them and after a few seconds realized they couldn't see her. She silently cursed. "I forgot you can't see my face. I'm frowning at you" she informed them. Mission giggled and began to walk away, Carth weakly smiled and turned around, shuffling back towards the entrance. They both stood at one side of the door and Mission began talking to Carth about all the things she had done since they were in Dantooine. He rolled his eyes and made a face that seemed to suggest he would prefer to be mauled alive by a pack of Kath hounds than listen to Mission for another ten seconds.

Aspyre turned around and opened the door, having silently become the "door opener" since nobody else could do it. The four of them went inside and they saw a very strange looking droid standing near the door on the other side. Canderous and Zaalbar both reached for their weapons and held them to their sides, fingers on the triggers. Aspyre turned her head around the room and her eyes landed on a dead body on the ground. She saw the robe and recognized him as the Jedi the masters had spoken of, Nemo. She ran to him and turned him over, hoping there was still enough life left in his to heal him but when she turned him she found herself staring into his cold, lifeless eyes. She sighed and closed his eyes, wishing that he had found eternal peace by becoming one with the Force.

She placed him down on the floor and the droid shrieked at her, not some kind of random shriek, but a precise pattern, a language of some sort. She turned around but did not understand anything of what it told her. She was silent and the droid changed languages, but she did not understood anything either.

"I can't understand you" she told it.

"It looks like it is changing languages, it can probably understand us, but it just can't answer us back" Bastila noted.

"I can speak all the languages that the slaves of the Infinite Empire speak" it said with a deep gurgling voice.

"Hey I got that!" Aspyre exclaimed.

"I understand this language too. It is a rather unusual form of Selkath... Why would a droid in Dantooine be programmed to speak ancient Selkath?" Bastila inquired.

"Communication was vital for the precise construction of this temple" the droid responded to her.

"Who are you? What is your function?" Aspyre asked him.

"I am the foreman" he told them. "I was built to ensure that the slaves would get their job done and perfectly build this temple. When the temple was finished they were executed and I was reprogrammed to aid any Builder that came looking for the Star Forge."

"Star Forge?"

"What is that?" Aspyre asked it.

"The Star Forge is the eternal glory of the Builders, the apex of their Infinite Empire. It represents the power and might the Infinite Empire has over the universe. It is, and forever will be, the proud beacon of power of the Infinite Empire." The droid responded them. They waited for it to continue its explanation, but it was silent.

"Well what does it do?" Canderous snarled at it.

"The- The Star Forge is the eternal glory of the Builders, the apex of their Infinite Empire. It represents the power and might the Infinite Empire has over the universe. It is, and forever will be, the proud beacon of power of the Infinite Empire" he repeated.

"Yes we know that, but can you tell us what the Star Forge does?" Aspyre pleaded it.

"The Star Forge is the eternal glory of the Builders, the apex of their Infinite Empire. It represents the power and might the Infinite Empire has over the universe. It is, and forever will be, the proud beacon of power of the Infinite Empire" it told them one more time. Bastila shook her head.

"This droid is not programmed with the information we need, this Star Forge sounds like some type of weapon, maybe a factory, that would explain how Revan and Malak got their fleet, maybe we should ask it about them. Droid, has anybody come here in the last years?"

"The most recent record of activity was 26 hours ago, the subject was like you. Not a Builder, but not a slave either. Before him, two subjects entered 5 years ago and requested information on the Star Forge, they proved themselves worthy."

"Did you kill this man?" Aspyre asked him.

"He fell to the defenses of this temple, he was unworthy" the droid replied.

"How do we prove ourselves worthy?" Canderous asked him.

"Go to the doors on the right and left of me. There you will face a test, if you pass it, then you will prove yourselves worthy and the secrets of the Star Forge will be revealed to you."

No sooner had he finished speaking when Canderous opened the door to the right and Aspyre followed him. Zaalbar went behind them and Bastila went over to the Jedi's body and searched for his lightsaber.

"Poor Nemo" she muttered to herself as she retrieved his blade and hooked it to her belt. She heard the sound of blaster fire and ran towards her companions. She found a broken droid at Aspyre's feet, sizzling with lightsaber cuts and blaster holes. She saw the computer and walked over to it. It started up rather quickly and displayed a lot of strange symbols she had never seen. After pressing a few random buttons she grabbed her datapad and hooked it up to the computer. It was silent for quite a few moments but then started beeping. After a few minutes Bastila placed away her datapad and the computer started displaying everything in Basic. After a few minutes she managed to solve the rather child-like riddle and they all went to the left door. The same drill passed and they were standing again in the main chamber.

"You have proven worthy. I will now open the door and the secrets of the Star Forge will be revealed to you."

Bastila frowned heavily at this, wondering why the secrets to the mightiest weapon in the galaxy would be protected by riddles and secrets that a nine year old apprentice would be able to figure out.

The heavy stone door creaked and gave to some inner mechanism. It opened and they went inside. A black monument stood in the center of the room, its imposing presence filled with the Dark Side. Aspyre heard Zaalbar roar and saw him occasionally shaking. She looked at Canderous, but he seemed unfazed. He caught her gaze and smiled a proud smile.

"Mandalorians are trained to resist the Force" he answered her unspoken question. She nodded and turned to look at the strange monument. Bastila approached it and it opened like a black rose and its three stone petals rested on the ground. They heard a hum and soon a vision of bright stars and planets filled Aspyre's sight. Bastila covered her eyes and waited for them to adjust. Aspyre, safe behind her mask did not need to. She looked at whatever it was for a few seconds until Bastila spoke.

"It's some kind of map. Mmm, you see this planet right here? That looks like Manaan, and if that's Manaan, then this is Korriban, this is Kashyyyk and the yellow planet down here must be… Tatooine" she finished with a smile on her face, proud she had figured it out.

"But this doesn't say where the Star Forge is, or what it is. And some coordinates are missing" Aspyre added grumpily.

"I'm sure if we visit these planets we will find the rest of the coordinates, no doubt this is a security measure" Bastila reassured her, suddenly understanding the simple logic behind the security measures. Aspyre crossed her arms and mumbled softly.

"I hope so".

"We should inform the council on what we have found, they will be very interested and maybe we can decide on a course of action."

Aspyre nodded and they started to walk outside. As they crossed the main room, Canderous, Zaalbar and Bastila kept walking by the droid without even looking at him! Aspyre frowned and thought they were just being plain rude, the droid had helped them, and they could at least say thanks, so she stopped and turned at him.

"Thank you for help" she told him and bowed. The droid was silent and she thought he was broken. However he moved and she realized he probably just wasn't programmed to receive thanks, or how to say "you're welcome".

"Hey, how are the Builders, what are they?" she asked him.

"The Builders are the eternal rulers of the galaxy, the conquerors of worlds and creators of the Star Forge. Their command is absolute and obedience is demanded, and received from every sentient being in the galaxy."

"That's strange" Aspyre jumped as she heard Bastila's voice right behind her. "I have never heard of these, Builders, perhaps they are an extinct race, strange that they should not be on the Jedi archives."

"The Builders will never die!" The droid angrily replied to her. "They are the eternal rulers of the galaxy, the conquerors of worlds and creators of the Star Forge. Their command is absolute and obedience is demanded, and received from every sentient being in the galaxy!"

"How long has it been since a builder has come here?"

"My chronological circuits have marked over ten full revolutions of this system's outermost planet around its sun since the Builders left" he responded. Aspyre tried to count but realized she knew nothing of Dantooine's rotation. She saw Bastila gasp and cocked her head to the side slightly, wondering how long it was.

"Ten-ten revolutions? That cannot be right, there must be some mistake! Ten revolutions would be more than 20,000 years!" she said with a shocked look on her face.

"There is no mistake! My circuits were created using the invincible technology of the Star Forge! My calculations are and always will be 100% correct!" he replied, visibly wounded at her apparent insult.

"If that is correct, then this droid is 5,000 years older than the Republic... it is even older than the Jedi order itself!"

Aspyre tried to piece together what the droid said. He was created using the invincible technology of the Star Forge; he was over 20,000 years old and his masters where the Invincible Empire or something like that. She no longer felt so bad about turning 25 in a few months and she felt bad for the poor droid, all alone for 20,000 years, he was probably very lonely... Unless he wasn't programmed to feel lonely, she thought.

"Very well. We should get going, this has taken a rather interesting turn, we need to report it to the council right away" Bastila said as she eagerly turned around on her heels and walked out. She nodded and started to follow her. She remembered what she had thought about the other when they left so rudely and mentally smacked herself. She turned around to the droid and bowed to him one last time. They reached the exit and the stone doors closed behind them.

"I feel bad for leaving that poor droid there" she said to nobody in particular.

Everybody turned to look at her, mostly confused, others incredulous that she had actually said that. Bastila simply turned around and started walking to the enclave, ignoring her remark. The others followed her and soon she was left alone in front of the door. She knew it was silly, he was a droid, _it_ didn't feel anything! She shook her head and started following her friends. It was barely noon and the sun was high on the sky. She saw a large shadow moving towards her and she looked up. It was one of those huge beast that were always flying over the plains of Dantooine. It was so big. She had never seen a creature as big as it before, it was so majestic, so beautiful and she felt a smile creep across her hidden face.

00

"This is a rather important revelation" master Vaandar said as she and Bastila finished explaining the situation.

"It seems Revan and Malak went in search of whatever this contraption is and that might explain how it is that they fell to the Dark Side" master Vrook said with a grim tone.

Master Dorak was quiet, searching with his datapad for any reference to the builders, the Star Forge, the Infinite Empire or anything that helped them, but by the look of disappointment on his face he found nothing. Aspyre felt very sad for some reason when she saw him looking like that but she didn't say anything.

"It would seem that Bastila is correct, you must travel to these planets and find the rest of the coordinates. We would send a team of Jedi knights, but a large group would draw Malak's attention on them and that is something we cannot risk" Vaandar told them.

"When can we leave, Masters?"

"As soon as you are ready. Padawan Shan will accompany you on this dangerous quest and it would be beneficial if you took your companions with you as well. They have unique skills that will prove useful in your journey" Zhar responded.

"We will leave at once, Masters. We will not falter, we will not fail. And I wish to thank you for giving us this opportunity, you won't regret it" Aspyre told them. She saw the four of them look at each other and then they turned to look at her, smiles on their faces, except for Vrook of course, but his usual menacing stare was slightly less scary. "I will bring Malak back here and redeem him masters, don't worry" she added with a hidden smile. She turned to Bastila and they both ran towards the Hawk, eager to finally leave the planet and save the galaxy. Aspyre felt like a child being given her first task by her parents, eager to prove herself and happy to be given the chance. They arrived at the Hawk and found Carth on the main room playing pazaak with Mission, Zaalbar was eating a bowl of soup and they heard Canderous tinkering with the swoop. T3 beeped behind them and they stepped out of his way as he kept doing his regular circuit of the ship.

"It's time to go, guys!" she announced happily at the crew.

Carth stood up and threw down his cards, a bit too gladly for Mission's taste and looked at her, wondering where they were going. At least he assumed they were going together, he rather hoped they would. Aspyre looked around and waited until Canderous was in the main room with them. She looked around and she began explaining their mission to them. After she was done, only she and Canderous were the only ones smiling, although Canderous had the only visible smile.

"So we can go to Tatooine, Manaan, Korriban and Kasshyk. Where do we go first?" Carth inquired, rubbing his chin as he did. Aspyre hesitated for a moment and realized she had not thought about their destination. She mentally flipped two coins and one landed on Manaan and the other landed on Tatooine; she picked Manaan and looked back at Carth.

"Tatooine" she said, changing her mind at the last possible second. Carth nodded and headed to the cockpit without another word. Canderous went back to the swoop and Mission ran over to Aspyre and began asking her all sorts of questions, about what they found on the cave, more details of their mission and a few other trivial things that she only half responded.

"I'm actually glad you choose Tatooine" Mission said after a while.

"Why is that?" she inquired.

"Well, I ran into Lena yesterday" she told her. Aspyre looked at her with her jaw wide open. Mission hated Lena! She had told her how she had stolen her brother away from her with her body and had made him forget about her when they left Taris. She silently hoped that Lena wasn't seriously hurt. "And she says that she dumped my brother, she told me all these lies about him. She said it was his idea to leave me on Taris and that she paid for everything when they were together and that he was always blaming her for his problems. Anyways, last thing she said to me was that he was on Tatooine. I hope at least that part is true on her crazy rant. And while I'm at it, I hope I never see her again!" she finished with an angry look on her face. Aspyre placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to calm her down. The little blue Twi'lek was turning a shade of deep purple by now.

They felt the sudden change on speed that told them they were in hyperspace. Aspyre went over to the cockpit and sat down next to Carth. They were silent for a few minutes and Aspyre sighed at the uncomfortable silence. She turned around to see if Canderous was nearby and she unhooked her mask strap. She grabbed it with her left hand and took it off, setting it in front of her. She looked at Carth and saw him smiling at her and she smiled back.

"You have been quiet lately, sir" she asked him with an intrigued look on her face.

"I have? I guess I just don't like being left out of the loop. Since we arrived on Dantooine, the questions have just been piling on" he told her. She frowned for a second and asked him what questions he had. "Well, for starters, why did the council sent you in this mission after only six weeks of training? And why is Bastila with us and not helping the Republic with her Battle Meditation? And what is the Star Forge?"

"Well, for starters, we don't know much about the Star Forge other that it is a probably a machine and it is very powerful and Malak is probably in control of it. I am going because I seem to have these visions of Revan and Malak and that may lead us to the location of the other Star Maps and third, Bastila is coming with us because she and I are linked together" she explained to him, holding up three fingers. He thought for a second on her answers.

"Wait, what do you mean, linked?"

"We are bonded together. The Force apparently joined us in Taris. They said it usually happens between master and student or between two people very strong in the Force. So now, Bastila feels my thoughts, I feel hers, we can talk through our bond and we have a very strong connection to each other. I understand her much better now and I think I'm starting to feel like she's the sister I never had" she said with a smile on her face. Carth nodded and felt a little better that he at least knew something. Another question popped on his head and he resolved to ask it quickly.

"But why didn't the council send somebody else with you? You know like a Jedi Master or somebody that could help you, us if things got a little out of hand? Surely they cannot believe that you and Bastila are enough Jedi to do this task?"

"They said that a large group of Jedi would draw Malak's attention… But, I am not sure if they were being honest with me" she told him with a sad look on her face.

"Why?"

"I don't know, it's just a feeling, you know?"

Carth nodded and looked forward at the bright blue and purple tunnel that surrounded the space craft. They sat in silence and after a few minutes he saw Aspyre picking up her damn mask and putting it on again. He swore quietly and wondered what would happen if he ordered her to take it off. Jedi or no Jedi, he was still her superior and she was still a soldier of the Republic. He shook his head and stopped thinking about it, she would probably do it, but she would feel bad about hurting Canderous' feelings. Not that he thought he had any; the girl was probably seeing things that weren't there like, feelings, or… humanity.

Aspyre stood up and went to the girl's quarters, leaving the pilot with his relentless thought attack. She sat down on her bed and took a few relaxing breaths. Now that the adrenaline of the excitement was over, she was feeling really nervous and scared. She thought of Malak and remembered how big he was, he was over two whole feet taller than her! The thought of facing him scared her a lot and she wondered if she would be able to talk him into coming back to the light, if she did, maybe she wouldn't have to fight him. But it was a foolish hope, she had not even managed to bring Juhani to the light, how could she hope to bring back the Dark Lord of the Sith? She shuddered and rubbed her arms, trying to calm down. She heard steps walking toward her, clicking on the Ebon Hawk's metal grate.

"You really need to practice on closing your side of the bond, it's all pouring into me" Bastila complained as she leaned on the side of the door and crossed her arms, looking at Aspyre with fake exasperation.

"I forget, it's not my fault!"

"On that, we can agree" Bastila said to herself as she looked beyond her face and into her with those big eyes of her. Aspyre shifted under her gaze, surprised at the absent-minded way she said it, and found Bastila shaking her head like an animal getting rid of water on it's fur.

Aspyre smiled and giggled. She scooted to the right side of the bed and mentioned Bastila to sit down next to her. She did as Aspyre tried to figure out what would be the best way to ask her.

"Bastila, do you trust the council?" she finally asked her. Bastila looked at her directly in the eyes and was silent for a second. She nodded. "Well, the thing is, I think that they are lying to me, or at least not telling me the whole truth."

Bastila stiffened and for a second she wondered if she had crossed a line saying that.

"Aspyre, if the council was to hide something from you, and I am not saying they did, it would be because knowing such truth could be dangerous to you, or there is nothing to be gained from that knowledge and it does not matter if they tell you or not."

"Bastila… do you know something?" she pressed her slightly at her elusive response. Bastila opened her mouth but closed it again. Damn! Why was she such a bad liar! "Please Bastila, if you know something, please tell me."

"I don't know anything Aspyre, really" she lied as best as she could. Aspyre looked at her with sad eyes.

"I can tell you're lying to me Bastila… But it is okay, if you don't want to tell me, then I won't force you." Aspyre stood up and left, leaving Bastila to her guilty thoughts. She walked back towards the cockpit and sat down again in the co-pilot's chair. She looked at Carth and he looked back at her.

"Bastila won't tell me what the council didn't" she told him.

"So now you know for sure that they are hiding something from you."

"Yes, I want to find out what it is, but Bastila is probably not going to tell me. Guess I'm just going to have to wait to see what it is" she said sadly. She watched the swirls of blue and purpled that went by the ship. She loved traveling in hyperspace, and it had been a while since she had been in a ship with a cockpit with a view as good as this one.

"Welcome to the club, sister" Carth said as he stood up from his chair, giving the ship's controls one last check. "When Mission and Zaalbar become Jedi without telling you, I believe we can call it even."


	14. Not That Little

Chapter 14

_Revan beheaded another Mandalorian as Alek sliced through the solid steel door of Mandalore's ship. She pressed her back against him and after a few more seconds she heard the piece of door being pushed and creating a hole. Alek stepped aside and she went in. He was about to follow her, but an entire platoon of Mandalorians came rushing towards them down the hallway. He turned to them and encased the first wave in stasis. With all his might he threw his lightsaber at them and it sliced through a few dozen Mandalorians. Revan turned back to help him but he held his hand up. She looked at him for a second, silently promised to come back quickly and he nodded at her._

_ Revan went inside the door and saw a lone figure standing on the bridge, looking out to the battle raging outside. So far both sides seemed to be pretty even, but the Republic had a very brilliant strategy and it was slowly turning the tide of the battle. Mandalore the Ultimate was wearing a bright golden armor and helmet, a bright red cape resting on his back down to his knees. Revan took off her cloak and ignited her lightsaber. There were no words that needed to be said. She hated this man, what he represented, what he had done, who he had killed, it didn't matter to her if the Jedi Code forbid them to hate. She hated him. She felt her grip against the metal handle tighten and she saw him draw his vibroblade. It was a very thick model with a very fancy grip. She would enjoy ripping it from his cold dead hands. She waved her head and sent her hair to her back, it flew in a golden arc and it landed gracefully, it tips caressing her hips. She saw him adopt a rather crude version of Ataru and smiled behind her mask, it would be very fun fighting this man._

_ "Mandalore, time to see if you live up to your name" she said with ice on her voice. The Mandalorian screams had slightly died out, but she still heard the occasional blaster shot towards the door. Alek would join her soon and he would witness her most glorious moment. Their most glorious moment. The end of the Mandalorian wars._

_ She ran to him and with all her might, brought down her blade on him, he jumped out of the way and blocked her next blow. He held her in place with his vastly superior strength, and lifted his boot and kicked her in the stomach, she allowed herself to be thrown a few feet and she landed in a rather dance-like position, her feet crossed and her arms outstretched, unscathed by his attack. Mandalore ran towards her and brutally slashed at her. She blocked his weaker blows and dodged his strongest ones. He was too strong to block successfully and she felt as her arms trembled with every blow, even his weakest ones. She jumped on top of him and swiftly placed her right foot on his head, balancing herself on top of him. She felt his body tense and then she felt him tremble, most likely with anger. With a vicious yell, he sliced at her and she jumped off him and landed behind him, yeah, definitely anger. She ran around him and slashed him once on his left arm, not deep enough to cut it off, but enough to make it useless for battle. She saw him wince in pain and she smiled._

_ Alek cut down the last Mandalorian and after a quick check of his surrounding, he turned around and entered the bridge. He saw as Revan kept jumping and somersaulting around Mandalore, using her small frame and large speed in such a way he had never seen before. He saw her jump and twist in the air to dodge a desperate slash that almost removed a few of her golden hairs. Alek raised his eyebrows in surprise at the move, despite having seen it quite a few times, it never stopped amazing him how Revan never failed, how she calculated everything and even took her hair into account when she made her moves. It was as if she knew where it would be, how it would flow and she used it to her advantage. Then he saw something that made him feel anger boiling on his gut. Mandalore grabbed her hair and pulled her down on the floor. Revan crashed against the floor mask first, but rolled and manage to avoid his monstrous stomp. She threw her hand at him and he went flying against the roof. Alek heard his bones crack with the force of the impact and for a second felt sorry for Mandalore. Revan did not like it when people touched her hair roughly. She really, really did not like it. With a swift twist of her wrist she sent him crashing against the wall and then threw him against the safety glass, creating a few tiny cracks in it. He saw his body go slightly limp and he assumed he was unconscious. He started to walk towards Revan but saw her flick her wrist again and sent him crashing to the ground. He stepped over to her and offered her his hand, lifting her tiny frame with ease. She took it coldly and then quickly went to check on him, she saw he was still breathing and for a few seconds stood still, unsure of what to do._

_ "The Jedi would want him alive" he said vaguely, though he doubted she would listen._

_ Revan stood still in front of the unconscious body of the Mandalorian leader and wondered what should she do? Would she be able to kill him and resist the pull of the dark side? And even more importantly, what would Alek think? He probably would not approve of it, but she knew that he would not stop her. She thought for a few more seconds and saw that Alek was looking out the glass at the fight, as if waiting for her to finish her business so they could leave._

_ She looked down at the broken body of Mandalore and realized that if he woke up, he would be in so much pain it would drive him insane. She thought, and decided, it was an act of mercy to kill him, ignoring the tiny voice on the back of her head saying it would be an even greater act of mercy to heal him. She pointed her closed lightsaber and placed it next to his temple. She saw him move and groan slightly and she pressed the ignition button before she had any second thoughts._

00

Aspyre woke up and stretched her body on her small bed. She looked around and saw Mission changing into her clothes. She closed her eyes and felt Bastila eating on the main room with Carth and Zaalbar. She felt and, slightly saw, Canderous taking a shower in the fresher and then she felt T3's unique presence near the hyperdrive. She took a deep breath and stood up. This was the last day they would be in hyperspace, in exactly 26 hours, they would reach Tatooine. Mission greeted her while she was struggling to get her pants on while wearing her boots. Aspyre shook her head at the sorry sight as Mission fell down on the floor furiously kicking her legs in the air and went straight to the main room. She greeted everybody and sat down next to Zaalbar. She poured herself a bowl of soup and ate silently. Mission came out and sat down next to her, finally having won the contest against her clothing. She poured some soup and they were silent for a second, nobody really having nothing interesting to say. Mission was fidgeting with her lekkus and seemed to have something to say, but Aspyre finished eating and decided she was still tired so she went to the fresher, brushed her teeth and went back to bed, she couldn't deal with anything right now.

00

_Revan said bye, bye to her mommy and went with the little green man who was just a tiny bit taller than her. She liked the metal floor in the big grey metal bird. It clicked when she walked on it. The green man smiled at her and she liked it, he was nice. She went with him and she sat down in a nice chair. It was very soft. She looked around and saw her mommy waving goodbye at her, smiling. She smiled back and waved. She saw her daddy coming over and waving at her as well. She waved at him too. The little green man told her it was time to go and he pushed a button on the nice chair and she felt something pressing against her chest. She got a little bit scared but the nice little green man told her it was so she would be out of harm's way. He smiled again and she felt the bad fear go away._

_ The metal bird got up and she saw as her mommy and daddy became smaller and smaller until she could no longer see them. She saw them go higher and higher in the sky and she saw a big brown and green ball in front of them._

_ "What is that?" she asked pointing a little finger at the window._

_ "That is your home, Revan. That is how Deralia looks from where we are." The little green man told her._

_ She was silent. Her home was not that little. The little green man was probably wrong. She saw everything go to one side of the glass and then she saw only black and little white dots. The stars! They were so pretty! She then saw the little dots turn to lines and then bright purple and blue lights were shining in front of them. Wow! She liked those lights. They were so funny! They turned around and they hid from her and she saw one of the lights smiling at her, so she smiled back at it. She saw another light make a funny face at her and she laughed. Oh, those lights were very silly! She watched them for a while and then she began to feel sleepy. She saw the little green man come over to her and he gave her a nice pillow. She pushed it against her face and soon she was seeing the nice colors inside her eyes. Those colors where nice, but they weren't funny. She saw them for a few moments and then fell asleep._

00

Aspyre woke up and went to the fresher; she had slept all night again and was ready to go and tackle a new day. Except, there was nothing there really to tackle, it was still about four hours left until they reached Tatooine so all she could do was play pazaak with Mission or talk with Carth or Bastila, but there was a big chance that either of those conversations would end up in a fight and she did not want to argue right now. She took off her clothes and took a pleasant, lengthy shower. It was about noon so nobody was going to bother her right now. She filled the bath to the brim and sat down. She felt as the water covered her and crept inside her pores, under her fingernails, between her toes and into her hair. She felt every muscle in her body relax and thank her. She could almost feel her brain releasing endorphins at this feeling. She was so absorbed at the water she did not notice the door opening. She really did not notice the figure on the other side of the curtain taking its clothes off. She definitely did not notice the slim fingers grasping the edge of the curtain and opening it to step inside. She opened her eyes at the noise and saw Bastila looking at her. They both reddened and Aspyre felt the water temperature increasing as her own body started boiling. Bastila stared for a second and then sharply closed the curtain. She gasped and stammered a few words. She saw her figure quickly and clumsily dressing again.

"I'm so sorry, Aspyre! I did not feel you here, I thought you were asleep!" she apologized to her. Aspyre tried to say it was okay but she didn't really managed to pronounce anything, Bastila grabbed her towel and almost ran outside the fresher. Aspyre felt her tensed muscles begin to slowly, very slowly loosen up again, she felt her heart beat slow down from deathly fast to insanely fast to very fast to regular tempo and she felt her skin color return to its usual cream, very slowly.

She stayed on the water and tried to relax, but all she could see was Bastila, naked, looking at her. Naked! She would never forget this moment; it had to be the single most embarrassing moment in her life! Well, after that incident on Coruscant, but if that droid had not gone out of control and that taxi driver had not been drunk, only about five stories of the Coruscant bank would have been destroyed, not the entire block! She brought her head back to the present, so she was no longer allowed to go to Coruscant under penalty of death, it didn't matter right now. She could find a way to return later, if she ever wanted to return. What was she gonna do about Bastila? She thought for a second and she decided that she would not get an answer in the bath and she was not gonna get any relaxation after that. She got up and looked for her towel but did not find it, and then she realized with a gasp. Bastila took it! She must have thought it was hers and taken it! She opened her bond and tried to speak to her but found it was closed. She pried harder and after a few minutes she managed to get through.

_"Bastila?"_

_ "Y-yes?" _a startled voice responded her.

_"You took my towel! I can't get out!"_

_ "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'll be right there!"_

She heard footsteps running her way and the door opened and Bastila stood at the door, her towel on her right hand. Clearly Bastila had not expected to see her standing in the middle of the fresher naked and she gasped again when she saw her, her hair barely covering her naked form. Aspyre shyly took her towel back and softly thanked her. Bastila nodded and absentmindedly turned around and left, leaving, of course, the fresher door open. Aspyre sighed and closed it. She saw Bastila turn around at the sound when she realized she had forgotten that too and she soon heard a flurry of apologies coming from their bond. She shut her side and proceeded to dry herself. She twisted her hair and rinsed all the water in the tub before pulling the plug and letting all the water go to the purification system. She sighed and opened the door and gingerly looked left and right, seeing nobody she went to the girl's quarters and started to quickly get dressed. She finished getting dressed and opened her side of the bond again. She felt Bastila's shame and embarrassment coming from her side but also… curiosity? Bastila was curious? About what? Surely not her? She shook her head and tried to think of something else, and she realized she had about three hours until they reached Tatooine. She went to the cockpit and saw that they had already dropped out of hyperspace. She sat down next to Carth and he glanced at her, noticing immediately her redden face, indicating something had very recently happened to her. Her neck was not yet red, which meant it was not that recently but her ears were still bright red which meant it wasn't that far away either.

"Who saw you naked?" he inquired sarcastically.

She turned even redder when he said that and for a second he wondered, did he nail it?

"Nobody! That's so silly, why would you say that, you silly person! Nobody has seen me naked that would be so embarrassing! Don't say silly things, Carth!" she said with a nervous smile on her face. She started hyperventilating and turned her head back to Tatooine. "So how long until we can land? I really want to get of this ship and explore Tatooine!"

He shrugged and kept piloting with a grin on his face, bringing them closer to the bright brown planet. She did not see even the slight shade of green to indicate any plant life, and only tiny, tiny blue lines appeared every now and then. She saw the planet grow in size and soon she could make out the borders of the port of Anchorage. Carth neatly took them down and they landed gracefully on the platform. He opened the ramp and Aspyre bolted outside. She took five steps and she quickly felt the burning sun beating her down and she had to struggle to catch her breath, she felt sweat beads forming on her forehead, chest, hands and legs. She ran back to ship and saw that she was almost drenched in sweat. Her face was really hot and it felt slightly burned. She went to her bed and grabbed her mask. She placed it on and went back outside, followed by a quiet Bastila and a very energetic Mission. She saw Canderous coming out in full heavy body armor, taking no notice of the sun. She wondered how could they stand the heat, she could barely take it. When was the last time she had been in a place this hot? Never, she thought back, Deralia was never this hot, it was rather cold actually and the hottest place she had been was Dantooine. She went under the nearest shade she could find and saw Carth and Zaalbar getting out and heading to them. The six of them stood in the shade while they wondered what to do.

"We need to get some supplies, find Mission's brother, if he is here, search for clues to the star map and- Oh!" she ran towards the wall and read the poster placed on it. It said "Swoop Racing circuit, open for amateurs and professionals" in bright yellow letters in Huttese. Her face light up and she added to her list. "And go and race at the swoop track!" She turned back to her group, her hands clasped and she jumped up and down with joy. She saw their mostly disapproving faces and decided to land her gaze on Mission's who seemed to have less disapproving look. She nodded to her and then went to the city. Carth, Mission and Zaalbar went to the droid repair shop to pick up some spare parts and other supplies, while she, Bastila and Canderous went to the cantina and sat down on the table nearest to one corner. They stayed there for a few minutes, but nothing interesting happened, so Aspyre went to talk to some of the patrons there. She didn't get much info other than if she wanted to leave the city they had to get a hunting license from Czerka Corporation, who was not even selling them anymore. She looked at Bastila and found her staring intensively at a corner. She turned around and saw her looking at a woman, but her face was slightly obscured by the lighting. She opened her bond and began speaking to her.

_"Who is she?"_

_ "… I… I think she is, my mother" _Bastila said with a shaky voice.

"What?" she said out loud.

A few patrons turned around and stared at her and Bastila covered her face with her hands. She sat back down, her face bright red and waited for Bastila to explain to her.

"I can't really tell, but that could be her. She looks around her age and I could swear I have seen that robe before."

Aspyre gasped at what she said. Jedi were not supposed to see their families after they became Jedi. It supposedly clouded their judgment and according to the Jedi council, that was bad. According to Aspyre, not seeing your family again was bad, but who was she to argue. She looked again at the woman, but she could barely see her face. Her hair color was the same as Bastila's, but other than that she could not see anything else. She turned and saw Bastila biting her lower lip, uncertainty and fear oozing out of her; she could notice it even without her bond. Canderous took the hint and left the cantina, presumably to wait outside or go find something to kill, if it was time or an actual living being was yet to be seen.

"Go say hello" she suggested to her, but Bastila threw her a "really?" look. Bastila did not speak fondly of her mother, but Aspyre knew that she loved her father dearly and maybe she could ask him where he was. "You can ask her about your father." Bastila thought for a few seconds and let out a sigh of defeat. Aspyre grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the woman. The woman looked at them as if they were nothing more than two passerby's that were interrupting her.

"Yes, do I know you?"

Bastila was silent for a second and hung her head in pain. Aspyre felt it too and for a second wished they had stayed in their table.

"It's me, mother, Bastila. Don't you recognize me?" she asked her sadly.

"Well what did you expect? I have nothing of you except a picture when you were a baby! I have been looking everywhere for you!" she snapped at her. She saw Bastila wince and she felt a pang of sympathy for her.

"Well, now you found me, what do you want? Where is father?"

"Ah, so you have not heard" the woman said with a sad look on her face as she took a long, profound breath. She contemplated for a moment and then simply said "your father is dead Bastila. That is part of the reason I was looking for you."

Both Bastila and Aspyre gasped at her words and their knees shook, threatening to bring them down.

"Dead? But how?" she asked with a terrified look on her face. She focused on her mother and her look turned from terrified to hateful. "What did you do to him?"

"Well, isn't this a beautiful reunion! You there, you are one of her friends, do you speak to your mother that way?" she asked Aspyre.

"I never used to you talk to her like that. She died a few years ago" she responded shyly. She saw the woman's face soften for a moment and then she spoke.

"I'm sorry for your loss. It would seem like I will be joining her soon."

"Please, spare us the melodrama mother, what do you want?"

"That is no way to treat a dying woman, not that you would care."

"Are you really dying, or is that for my benefit?" Bastila responded with steel on her voice and frost on her eyes.

"Yes Bastila I am. But don't you worry about that; I know you were always eager to blame me for everything so let's give you the chance. Your father, against my wishes came here to Tatooine to hunt a Krayt Dragon. He was killed by it. Another hunter saw him and he told me a few months ago."

"I see" Bastila replied with an immense misery, Aspyre opened her bond and started to absorb all of it, hoping it would help her. It did, but most of her sadness was replaced by anger. "So what do you want, credits?"

"Don't be insulting, I want you to use those senses of yours and find your father's holocron and bring it to me" she told her.

"So you can sell it?"

Aspyre tried really hard not to cry at the sight. She would give up the galaxy to be with her mother again, and here Bastila, who had the chance to, was throwing it all away over something as petty as the past. It really took all her might to do so. She tried to remember the last conversation she had with her mother, but her memory was hazy and she could not recall exactly what they had spoken about.

"-it, and then you will never have to worry about me again" Helena finished.

Bastila turned around and left the cantina, Aspyre looked at the woman with wet eyes nobody could see and apologized in Bastila's behalf. She followed her and saw outside, standing next to Canderous. She walked towards her and grabbed her by her shoulder, she turned her around and she slapped her face. Bastila gasped and winced at the hit. She placed her hand on her cheek and looked at Aspyre, first with shock and anger, but when she saw the tears flowing down her neck and into the sand her look turn to worry and guilt.

"You destroyed that woman, Bastila! She asked for your help and you not only turned her down, but also threw it back on her face and spat on her" she said with barely controlled anger. "She is your mother Bastila! Your mother! How can you do that to her?" She tried to go on, but she couldn't find the words, she turned around and left for the Ebon Hawk, Canderous following her closely and leaving the shocked Bastila behind.

00

Bastila began to feel Aspyre's emotions through their bond, and a waves of sadness, despair and regret crashed over her, all focused around one person. An image of a woman with long blonde hair like Aspyre flowed into her mind. Bastila gasped and realized how selfish she had been, how unbelievably unkind and what a horrible person she had been. She ran to the Ebon Hawk, she had to apologize, she had probably showed Aspyre what her and her mother's reunion could go by, at least on her imagination and she destroyed the image. Feeling tears rolling down her cheeks, Bastila reached the hangar and ran inside the Hawk. She went straight to the girl's quarters and saw Aspyre without her mask, her head between her hands and a small pool of tears on her feet. Bastila saw the image and it completely destroyed her heart. She ran to the girl and hugged her, but she did not hug her back. She tried to talk to her through their bond, she tried to feel what she was feeling, but she was cutting her off.

Aspyre lifted her head and saw Bastila's face covered in tears as well. Bastila grabbed her head and placed her forehead against hers. She closed her eyes and allowed the bond to reopen. She felt all of her emotions flooding her and did her best not to break down. She felt the guilt that Bastila had, but at making her feel bad, not towards not helping her mother. She felt it and it made her even madder. How could she be so stupid? How could she not see?

"You mother is who you should be worried about, not me. She is the most important person in the galaxy and you are hurting her in ways that you could not even imagine. Bastila, I would sacrifice everything, absolutely everything, to see my mother and father again, to be given the chance you just were and I just had to watch the beautiful moment when you were given that chance, followed by the atrocious instant when you took it and crushed it under boot. You have no idea what it is to watch that… It would be like eating in front of a starving man and then throwing the leftover to the thrash and burning the thrash in front of his eyes. It was so… cruel of you to do that."

Bastila felt her emotions well up, sadness, guilt but most importantly shame began to rise on her chest like they were about to burst. She felt the pressure on her chest increase and her heart actually began to hurt. She tried to breathe, but her windpipe was closed, she began shaking and sobbing next to her. She was right, she had to try, she owed her that much, not her mother, that was for sure, but Aspyre. She knew she would truly do anything to have a chance to be with her mother. And to be honest, she would also do anything to give her that chance. But the universe did not work that way, and pipe dreams and false hope was all they had. She felt Aspyre's sadness and anger at the event, she felt her sympathy for her father's loss and it mixed with her own pain and shame. Soon the emotions were too much for the girls to handle and they broke down on each other's arms. They kept crying for what seemed like hours until they heard steps coming from the ramp. They felt Mission's happy face poking inside the quarters, but her smile faded when she saw the two girls, hugging and crying with their foreheads pressed together. She quickly retreated outside and sat in the main room. She sat next to Carth and Zaalbar, a philosophical look on her face.

"What is it?" Carth asked her.

"Bastila and Aspyre are sitting on their bed, crying. The bed sheets look soaked, they must have been there for a while" she said with a worried tone. Carth started to get up, but Mission grabbed his arm and pulled him down. They saw Canderous walking into the main room carrying some spare parts and started to tinker with them. "Hey what happened to Bastila and Aspyre?"

"Princess? She got sad cause she saw her mom and apparently she hates her but loves her father and he's dead now and Aspyre was mad cause princess didn't appreciate her mom so she slapped her and then we came back to the Hawk and they started crying" he said without stopping what he was doing. He checked his watch. "It's been… four and half hours since we came back."

Mission opened her mouth to speak. Four hours? Not even she had cried that much when Taris had exploded, well, she had, but not all in one sit! She wondered what to say, but Canderous seemed unfazed by any of their responses. She wondered how he could be so insensitive, their friends were crying uncontrollably in that room and here he was, fidgeting with some spare parts like he didn't care. He kept building and taking apart the same piece for about five minutes and then Mission suddenly got it. She took a closer look at his face and saw his jaw was slightly clenched, his hands were not making the same precise movements they usually did and his eyes were not as hard as they usually were, they were hard and covered by the wall of indifference he usually had, but now the wall was not as thick. She felt slightly embarrassed and surprised at the same time, so Canderous Ordo was not the senseless mercenary she thought he was… she would have to apologize later. She looked at Carth and saw him looking at Canderous too; he gawked at her and motioned to him with his eyes. Mission nodded and they both got up and went to the cockpit.

"Wow!" she breathed once they were out of his hearing range. "I did not see that coming, he might have as well been crying with them!"

"Shut up! Don't let him hear you say any of that or he will rip your lekkus apart and strangle you with them!" Carth told her in a scolding tone. He was fairly certain that Canderous would do it. Hell; he was sometimes tempted to do it himself. He saw Mission look nervously at the main room and they both sat down at the cockpit. After a few uncomfortable minutes they were fidgeting with whatever they could find.

"Wanna play pazaak?" she asked him.

"What you see in that game that makes you play it so many hours I will never know" he sighed, but grabbed her spare deck and they both started playing.

00

Aspyre felt really tired. Despite the fact she had been awake for only seven hours, her crying with Bastila and the intensity of their emotions, probably doubled by their bond, had left her mentally and physically exhausted. She opened her eyes and saw Bastila's beautiful eyes looking back at her. She shakily smiled and they both rested on the bed. She pulled her closer to her and snuggled against the taller girl.

"I know you will do the right thing, Bastila" she whispered in her ear. Bastila slightly nodded and she kissed her lightly on the cheek. She closed her eyes and felt all the pain being slowly washed away as sleep took her.

00

_Revan was happily jumping up and down her chair. The ball in front of her was getting bigger and bigger! She saw it turn so big it did not fit in the glass anymore! She tried to see where it went but all she saw now was grass everywhere. She saw a very big not-house in front of where they landed and she saw a lot of kids like her standing in a line, looking at a very tall man. The little green man looked at her and she followed him outside the… ship, it was called. She saw a very pretty animal flying on top of them. It was like a bird, but it was so big! She saw another bird on the ground just like the one on top of them, but this one was black and it jumped over people and grass and boxed and not-homes like he wasn't even there. Maybe it was following its mommy on the sky. She followed the little green man and stood on the line. She saw the boy next to her. He was a little bigger than her. He had no hair. She wondered how he lost it. She looked at the man in front of them. He was talking like daddy talked to her._

_ "Okay, now that we are all here we can get started, little boys and girls." He said with a smile on his face. He turned around and told them to follow him. He told them this was going to be their new home. She saw a lot of people in her home. She saw a pair of people that had very bright lights in their hands and they were moving them and hitting them together. She gasped when she saw the bright sparks that went flying around. They were very nice. She liked the blue light. She followed the man and they sat down in very soft pillows. The man told them they were all very special because they use something he called the Force. She saw a boy raise his hand and he asked him what the Force was. Revan looked down on the ground; she had wanted to ask him what that was. The man smiled and told them that the Force was what let him do this. He pointed at a pretty red ball in front of him and without touching it, he lifted it! She gasped and she saw the ball moving towards them, it bounced on their heads and she saw it on top of her, she saw it going around and around and around and around in front of her. She saw it stopping in front of her and she laughed. Funny magic ball! She looked at the man and the ball went back to him._

_ "We are going to teach you to do that" he said with a smile. "Do you want to learn?"_

_ She screamed yes really loud and the other kids did too. They all got up and they followed the man to another room, where he said they would begin to teach them._

00

Aspyre felt a warm breeze caressing her face, sweeping through her closed eyes and she felt as it split when some entered her slightly parted lips and the rest went down, creeping towards her neck. She felt Bastila's warm body pressed against hers and pressed even closer to her. She felt a little sad, but it wasn't that bad anymore. She saw Bastila placing her hand on her back and rubbing it. They stayed in bed for a while, blinking the gumminess away. They stood up and quietly, still holding hands made their way to the main room. They saw nobody there and they sat down on the table, eating in silence. They got ready and left the Hawk. It was late at night; nobody would bother them right now, so they might as well search for some clues to find the star map. Still holding hands they walked down the main street and felt the cold night of Tatooine grip them. They stopped at the cantina first and found Helena in the corner, still sitting there with an indifferent expression on her face. Aspyre looked at Bastila and squeezed her hand. She smiled at her and they both walked towards the older Shan. They stopped a pair of feet away from her and waited for her to notice them. She looked at them and stood up.

"Back already, did you find the holocron?" she asked in a very business-like tone. Bastila took a deep breath and got ready to talk. For Aspyre, she had to.

"No mother, not yet. I-"

"Well, what are you waiting for? For a Jedi you don't seem very busy." Bastila winced and Aspyre felt her hand slightly tense at her mother's comment. She squeezed it and sent her soothing thoughts into her head.

"No mother, I came to apologize for the way I treated you before" she said and exhaled, there, she had said it. Helena eyed her daughter carefully. What had caused the sudden change in her? She looked at her companion and saw that she was as anxious as her daughter. She looked down and saw them holding hands nervously. She smiled when she saw that and chuckled softly.

"Oh sweetie I forgive you, and I'm sorry too" she said, hugging her. Bastila returned the hug and felt a huge weight come of her shoulders.

"I was just so shocked when I heard father's death I- I…" she tried to speak but her mother simply shushed her.

"It's ok, honey." Bastila nodded and hugged her tighter. Aspyre saw the two women hugging and whispering and she felt happiness and fulfillment inside of her. She saw them sit down and begin talking softly. She went to the bar and ordered a cup of caffa. She sat there, enjoying Bastila's feelings and the sizzling cup of caffa in front of her. She finished it and ordered another one. She had finished about five of them when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned, expecting Bastila, but finding it was both her and Helena. She smiled at them and finished her sixth cup in one gulp.

"Your name is Aspyre right?" she asked her. She nodded. "Please take good care of my daughter." Aspyre looked at Bastila and smiled at her.

"I won't let any harm come to her, miss Shan."

"Thank you. Now I don't want to take any more of your time, I'm sure you must be tired and you have much to do tomorrow." She turned to Bastila who started to protest but she hugged her tightly one last time and told her she would be here tomorrow, waiting for her.

She said goodbye to Aspyre and left the cantina. Aspyre looked at Bastila who was radiating an aura of peace and tranquility. Both girls smiled and Bastila grabbed Aspyre's hand and pulled her towards her, embracing her tightly. She felt her hand caressing her face and she turned slightly red.

"Thank you so much Aspyre. You have helped so many times. I- I don't know what I would do without you. Thank you so much" she whispered to her. Aspyre hugged her and patted her back twice. They separated and Aspyre grabbed her hand and they both started walking towards the Ebon Hawk.

"We should get some rest so we can be fresh for tomorrow" she told her. Bastila nodded and they briskly made their way to the ship. They went to their quarters and found Mission snoring on her bed, half her body hanging out from it. Her lekkus were flailing in her sleep and they would occasionally lift up and tense in a circle before they relaxed and fell towards the floor again. They sat down on the bed and were silent for a second; she saw Bastila fidgeting with her hands and for a second wondered if she had something to say. There was no way in hell she could have been prepared for what she did. Bastila grabbed the back of her head with her right hand and placed her left hand on her cheek, she pulled her closer to her, and before Aspyre could ask her what she was doing, she pressed her lips against hers.

Aspyre felt Bastila's warm full lips encase her own, moving up and down as she kept kissing her. She tried to understand what was going on, but her mind was completely focused on the Jedi girl that was eating her lips with her own. She slowly started to digest the effects that this was going to have on her, on them. Bastila, who was always so preachy about attachments and passion, was kissing her, and kissing her passionately! The always perfect always moral Jedi princess, as Canderous called her, was forcing her lips on hers and her tongue inside of her mouth! What did it mean? Was she giving up the Jedi code? What was she doing? Aspyre kept wondering all the implications this was going to have on their lives, she wondered and thought so hard she did not realize she was kissing her back, she did not realize she was grabbing her hair and pushing her fingers into it, tossing it around. She did not notice that their outer robes were thrown on the ground. But she did realize when she felt Bastila's hands caressing her body and hers doing the same thing. They rested on the bed and she heard Bastila's voice inside of her head.

_"I love you, Aspyre Venar."_

_ "… I love you, Bastila Shan."_

The girls shut off from the world around them and focused on themselves, determined to give themselves at least this night. They were so absorbed with what they were doing that they did not perceive Mission's eyes unenthusiastically opening.


	15. Fire Breathing Stampede

Chapter 15

Mission noiselessly gasped as she saw the girls naked on the bed. She felt her jaw drop, or in this case rise open even more when she saw what Bastila was doing to Aspyre and she almost literally felt her jaw unhinge and her eyes turn as big as plates when she saw Aspyre's reaction. She returned her head back to her bed, trying really hard to be as inconspicuous as possible. She thought for a second and grabbed her visor, a sudden thought occurring to her. Of course she knew Bastila and Aspyre were very close, she had seen then sleep together holding hands and she knew how much Aspyre had helped her when she had been raped, but she did not see this coming, she most definitely did not see this coming. She turned around with a purple blush and faced the pair again. She placed the visor over her head and turned it to night vision. She pressed the red button on the right side of the visor and the word "recording" appeared before her eyes. She grinned when she thought of all the possible ways that she could use this. Oh, she was going to have fun with them.

00

_Revan walked into a cave with Malak following close behind. They managed to find the second Star Map in the darkness of the cave, its dark pull easily telling them its location. Revan approached it and activated it; she connected her datapad and downloaded all the information unto it. They were very close now, so very close. Soon they would find the Star Forge and they would build their navy. Not to serve under that foolish Emperor, but an armada so powerful it would not only destroy the Republic, but the Sith Empire as well. They would rule the galaxy and they would be remembered forever as the destroyers of the Republic, conquerors of the know galaxy and the as the ones that saved it from the Sith Empire, they would be loved and respected wherever they would go. People would swear loyalty to them. Not out of fear, but out of humbleness and gratitude, they would go down in history as the galaxy's greatest heroes. They would inspire generations after them, and their names and legacy would live on even after their great, great grandchildren were long dead. They would be… immortal. She moved some sand around and wrote a small sentence on it. They left the cave, and as soon as they were outside they felt the blazing Tatooine suns crashing down on them._

00

Aspyre woke up and for the first time in a very long time she felt completely refreshed. Not just rested, but rather at 100% of her physical and mental abilities. She opened her eyes sleepily and saw Bastila next to her, completely naked. With a blush and a smile the events of last night came rushing back to her. She had been with Bastila last night. She had slept with Bastila last night. No those phrases didn't do it justice. She had… loved Bastila last night, was that it? She remembered that they were most likely not alone and she turned her head and saw Mission, thankfully, still sleeping, though her head was back on her pillow where it was supposed to be. She turned back to Bastila and caressed her face. She was so beautiful it actually got her thinking what she saw in herself. She remembered that Carth had called her beautiful and blushed at the memory, but surely Bastila had to be in a whole other level. She was beyond words; there was only silent awe at her facial features, her impeccable skin, her curvy and firm body. And it was not just her physical beauty she saw. She saw the beautiful mind behind it and she saw the gorgeous soul she possessed. She stayed thinking about different things for quite a while until she saw Bastila's eyelids flutter a few times. She opened her eyes and saw Aspyre looking directly at her with a smile on her face. Bastila smiled back at her and without any words she kissed her straight on her lips. Aspyre blushed and Bastila could not help but grin at the sight when they separated. She stared into Aspyre's eyes and focused on their bond in order to not wake the sleeping Mission.

_"Good morning my love"_

_"Good morning my love" _Aspyre repeated, unsure of what else to say.

_"You saw it too right?"_

_"Saw what?"_

_"The Star Map silly" _she thought with a smile on her face.

_"Oh, that… yes I saw it, it seemed to be in a cave. But I thought that Tatooine was only desert, I surely had never heard of any caves."_

_"Well, there might be one in the unexplored regions of the dessert."_

_"Oh, okay, then we should check it out right away."_

_"We will, but first tell me this... What are your thought on what happened... last night?"_

Aspyre faltered for a second and opened her mouth, again unsure of what to tell her. Bastila simply stared back at her with an inquisitive and distressed look on her eyes. She settled for the truth, after all the truth never hurt.

_"It was… unexpected, but beautiful. It was… breathtaking. It was marvelous."_

_"I'm glad we feel the same way" _she said with a relieved look on her face.

_"But Bastila, won't the-the council…"_

_"I know… but I just couldn't hide it anymore, I couldn't fight it anymore" _she said with a very serious tone. "_I tried to hide it, to lie to myself, but I just couldn't do it anymore."_

_"Bastila… you… you have given up on what you believed, for me?"_

_"The code forbids us from feeling passion, but there was no passion last night. Only love exists between us Aspyre, surely you felt it too?"_

Aspyre was silent for a moment and closed her eyes. She felt a few stray tears climb up towards her eyes and squirm their way out. She felt Bastila wiping them away and a feeling of nervousness coming from their bond. She opened her eyes and looked directly at her.

"Thank you Bastila" she said out loud.

"You're welcome" she replied. _"My love"_

00

Mission watched as the girls stared at each other's eyes for a long time and she knew that they were talking through their bond. She wondered what they might be saying and after a few minutes of pretending to be asleep she heard Aspyre thanking Bastila.

_"Probably had lots of fun last night" _she thought with a grin.

She saw them getting up and she closed her eyes when she saw Aspyre turning to look at her. She slightly opened one and saw both of them getting dressed. Aspyre grabbed her crumpled robe and dressed in less than a minute. Bastila dressed just as fast but spent another minute fixing her hair. She saw them stand in front of each other, as if checking each other out and saw them kiss before turning around and leaving.

Mission completely opened her eyes and jumped down her bed, she grabbed her clothes and threw them on and went after them. She saw the two of them sitting in the main room with Carth, Canderous and Zaalbar.

"Oh Mission you're up, great" Bastila greeted her.

She sat down and they started talking about their plan for the day. Carth, Bastila and Zaalbar were going to go to the Czerka office and get them the hunting license, while Mission and Aspyre would go to the swoop track get them some credits and then they would all leave to find the cave with the Star Map on it.

They all got up and started to leave the ship, but Bastila stopped Aspyre on the way out and pulled back on the ship.

"Aspyre, I-I think we should keep quiet about us" she said in a nervous voice. Upon seeing Aspyre confused look she reassured her. "Only for now, I just think that we have much to do and we can't afford distractions like that right now." Aspyre sighed but nodded. Maybe it was better if nobody knew for now. It still made her a little sad; it kind of felt like Bastila was ashamed of what they did last night. She kicked herself for her thoughts but still, she couldn't quite shake the feeling away. "Please don't think that" Bastila pleaded when she felt her insecurity and fear coming through their bond. Aspyre nodded and she managed to feel slightly less embarrassed at herself. Noticing her still rather obvious discomfort, Bastila made sure nobody was nearby and planted a kiss on her lips. Aspyre redden at the warm encasing feeling that surrounded her lips, and immediately felt better. She smiled at her and they made their way out of the ship. Bastila immediately returned to her usual no-nonsense attitude and walked towards the Czerka office with Carth and Zaalbar. She turned to Mission and saw Canderous coming out of the ship as well, heading towards her. He looked at her and gave her what was in his hands, her mask.

"Oh! Thank you, Canderous, I'm so sorry!" she hastily apologized as she placed it over her face. Canderous simply shrugged. "Hey, we're going to the swoop track, do you want to come? We could use the help carrying the swoop." Canderous gave her an I'm-not-your-servant look, but nodded at her. The three of them started pushing the swoop through the street and after a few minutes they were at the Swoop track. Aspyre had already signed up with a rather disgusting Hutt, even more repulsive than the usual, and was sitting in her swoop. She saw Canderous and Mission sitting on the side lines, Mission happily cheering her on and Canderous crossed armed, waiting to see what she would do.

Grinding her teeth. White knuckles grasped at the wheel. She rushed from an avalanche of adrenaline; it's all that she felt. As quick as a bolt of lightning, rockets ride in a bucket seat.  
It didn't get any better than this; it just fed her need for speed. Supercharged, strapped in and screaming, fires burning from the pipes. There was a burnout by the flame throwing fury. 80,000 horses ignited. Her hands held tight the fire breathing stampede. She fell into a trance and held her breath 'till the light turned green. With a cloud of dust kicking up, she blasted forward and said her prayers. Girl and machine accelerated and they vanished in thin air. She blasted at full speed through the first pad and felt her senses sharpen at the sudden increase in velocity. She observed everything, she felt every tremor and tremble her swoop made and before she knew it, she was scorching through the track, racing like there was no tomorrow. She bolted through the pads and barely dogged the debris from fallen pilots; she launched over the last race pad and flew past the finish line faster than she had ever done in her life. Kicking the brakes into full power she felt her swoop protesting, the rush of the race too much for it to stop now. Too much for _her _to stop now. She felt her heart pumping in her ears and sweat falling from her every pore, she felt her hands shake, not from fear but from excitement and she felt an intense pleasure in her system as the adrenaline and dopamine flowed through her. She got off her swoop and checked her time, barely in control of her body. Her knees buckled under her and she fell on the ground, unable to grasp the number being displayed in the time table. The crowd was trapped in a deathlike silence. The air sweeping all around them was the only sound in the entire track. Her breathing increased even more and she could not contain her joy any longer.

00

Canderous looked in absolute and downright shock as he checked the time table. It was not humanly possible, hell it was not possible for any sentient being to race that fast! He heard Mission next to him gasp when she too saw the time; she grabbed his arm for support and held on, both of their eyes as big as eggs. They saw Aspyre thrown on the floor, staring too at the time table. They very slowly turned to face each other, eye unwilling to part with the marvelous time being displayed. Mission was the first to smile, Canderous saw her and grinned too when the realization of reality crashed down on them. With this time, Aspyre had to be formally the Galactic Champion of _all _Swoop tournaments; past, present and future. They turned once again and checked the time; just to be sure their eyes were not deceiving them. There was no mistake; they had seen it and they had marked the time too. There was no way the three of them were wrong, that was the correct time. The time table blinked on and off displaying the record that Aspyre managed to get. It was as if it knew how unreal it seemed because it displayed the race for a second time and showed them the ending again. The time table marked the shortest time it had ever displayed on its thirty years of productive life…

13:20

00

Aspyre felt a huge wave of sound literally crash against her bones as the spectators cheered and yelled in both disbelief and elation. She felt the entire track quake and she saw Mission and Canderous running toward her. She saw the people turning red with the effort of maintaining their screams, possibly carrying them all the way to the other end of the world, informing all sentients around them of their exaltation. She felt as Mission threw herself on top of her and hugged her tightly, yelling in her ears. She felt Canderous' strong grip and he held her and congratulated her on what was, the greatest time he had ever seen and most insane, wild and suicidal pilot he had ever witnessed on the entire galaxy. She felt people raising her in air and cheering her as they took her back to Motta the Hutt. Never in their lives had anybody ever seen anything as incredible as that race, ever. She saw the other racers cheering her as well and she even saw a few people bowing to her and falling on their knees like she was some sort of deity. Was she dreaming? She probably was dreaming. 13:20? No way in hell anybody could get that time! How did she do it?

_"Ba-Bastila?"_

_"Aspyre what happened? I'm feeling so excited, I- what did you do?"_

_"I won the swoop tournament! Bastila I won! Not only that but I have made a time you will not believe! You have to get here now!"_

She felt Bastila send an affirmative response and after a few minutes she saw Carth, Zaalbar and Bastila barging threw the door. They fixed their eyes on her, still being raised by the people and Zaalbar covered his ears to protect them from the insane amount of noise. The three of them checked the time table to see what had people so excited and Bastila heard Carth gasping beside her. She didn't know much about swoop racing, but 13:20 did not seem possible, was it possible? Wasn't the average time around 22 seconds?. She had seen her race in Taris and she got a much higher score than this. She felt pride, excitement and joy rising in her chest, but they were not coming from the bond, they were coming from her, she was so proud at Aspyre, she could hardly believe herself. She smiled and walked over to Aspyre who had just been placed on the ground. She looked at the soaked girl and noticed her smile even under her mask. She grabbed her and hugged her tightly, as close to her as she could and she felt her doing the same thing. They reluctantly parted and she felt Carth's hand on her shoulder, a huge grin on his face.

"I had my suspicion that you were insane. Now I know for sure" he said only half jokingly. He hugged her and felt her trembling body as she was barely able to hold herself together after such an intense experience.

The celebrations continued on the cantina and soon, word spread all over the space port about the long haired blonde girl that had utterly crushed and obliterated the standing Galactic record. She had trouble going anywhere without getting euphoric people following her and asking for her autoprint and sometimes a holoshot. No matter how tired she was, Aspyre obliged and she had to be dragged away by Carth and Zaalbar from her insane fans. They retreated to the Ebon Hawk for rest and recuperation. Despite the day having only started, Aspyre was already tired and her body demanded some rest for her, the massive injection of neurotransmitters having taking a huge toll on her body. She took a shower and emerged slightly refreshed. She sat down on the main room and looked around her. Canderous, Zaalbar, Bastila, Mission and Carth sat around the table looking at her. After landing her gaze on each of the, she smiled at all of them.

"How did you do it?" Mission asked her with a still shocked look on her face.

"I don't know!" she confessed to them. "I was just waiting for the light to turn green and when it did… I just took off! I was just turning and passing over the pads but, I can't remember how I did it. In fact, I only remember starting the race, and finishing it."

The surprised and confused look on their faces was the only response they gave to her. She blushed at their attention and was silent for a second.

"Well, Aspyre you got us a lot of credits and thankfully nothing happened to you. I'm glad you're ok; just let us know next time okay?" Carth asked her. She nodded at him and then turned to Bastila.

"We should go back to our original plan" she said.

"Right, did you get the hunting license?"

"We did, but there was a catch" she said with an uncomfortable look on her face.

"What catch?"

"Well, in order for them to authorize us to leave, we had to promise that we would go to the sand people enclave and kill the chieftain, apparently the Tusken Raiders have been attacking Czerka miners and destroying their Sand Crawlers. If we don't do it Czerka will sue us for breaking the contract, although I highly doubt they will be able to keep us from leaving." Bastila finished with a smirk on her face.

"We met an alien outside the Czerka office" Zaalbar continued sensing Bastila's and Aspyre discomfort. "He said that there might be a droid on the droid shop that can speak their language, we might be able to reach a peaceful solution."

"That's a great idea! We should try that, I don't want to kill anybody." Aspyre said hopefully.

"Then let's get going!" Canderous said standing up. "The Tatooine desert should prove a nice challenge."

"You have a very twisted concept on what nice is, Canderous" Carth shot at him. Canderous simply shrugged and went outside the Hawk. Carth and Bastila stood up and the four of them headed out the door.

"Mission, Big Z, could you help T3 installing the new component on the ship? I want it to be ready for takeoff when we come back."

"Sure thing boss!" Mission replied with a grin. Aspyre placed her mask and after giving the little Twi'lek grease monkey a thumbs up, she turned around.

As she was leaving the Hawk she saw a dark skinned man talking to Canderous, looking rather angry at him. Canderous said something in Mandalorian to him and the man spat on his feet, gave his back to him and left. Aspyre jogged to him in time to watch the other man crossing the gate to Anchorage.

"Who was that?" she asked him with concern on her voice.

"Jagi, he was a soldier under my command a long time ago. I thought he was dead... He has insulted my honor and challenged me to a combat to the death in the Dune Sea... This is a challenge I cannot ignore" he responded with quiet anger radiating from his voice. Aspyre looked at him with worried eyes and placed her hand on his arm.

"What was he angry about? Why did he insult you?"

"That is between me and him! I will go settle this and then join you in your little quest."

"No" she told him firmly. He looked at her, daring her to repeat that, so she did. "No. You are not going alone. We are all going. He insults one of us, he insults all of us. I know this is a matter of personal honor to you, so we will not fight. But you are not going alone."

He looked at her, eyeing her closely on the one place that her mask did not cover, her bright blue eyes, staring straight at him. They were filled with worry and fear, but they had something else, determination and confidence. She was not going to back down. He sighed and looked straight forward. After what seemed like an eternity, he nodded. Aspyre smiled and they made their way to the droid shop.

The suns were, thankfully, not beating as hard today as they were yesterday and they swiftly got there. They were greeted by a blast of cool air and a friendly Ithorian. They told him they were looking for a droid that was able to speak the Sand People language, and the Ithorian pointed them to the corner of his shop, where they saw a towering droid, almost as tall and broad as Zaalbar was. It was painted rust red and had mean glowing orange eyes. Aspyre was a little scared to go near it, but was also very intrigued by it. She had never seen a model similar to it before. Why did a protocol droid built to translate be so damn big?

"Greeting: Hello, prospective buyer. I see you are interested in me. You have done a very wise choice coming me, as I am able to give you further details on my functionality. I do hope that you will buy me and take me away from that clumsy Ithorian. I am HK-47 I am fluent in over 6 million forms of communication" the droid stated very proudly.

"Clumsy Ithorian? You don't seem very thrilled to be in his possession" Aspyre noted.

"Statement: I am most certainly not! I am a very expensive and extremely sophisticated piece of engineering and that Ithorian does not have the least idea how to treat me."

"Aspyre understands a very large amount of languages, why would we buy you?" Carth interceded.

"Answer: I see you are armed and you are not uncomfortable with your weapons, I take you must face challenges daily."Aspyre thought for a moment and nodded, sure, not daily, but close enough. "Statement: I am also quite versatile handling heavy offensive equipment and I have the most efficient targeting and threat assessment protocols. I would prove a very valuable ally on the battlefield, as I am not limited to exhaustion, stress and so many other factors that interfere in the performance of a regular soldier."

"Why would a protocol droid also be fitted with combat capabilities?" Bastila asked him.

"Response: I do not know."

They all waited to see if the droid would go on, but after a few seconds of silence Aspyre asked the obvious.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Condescending Answer: It means that I do not possess the information necessary to derive a conclusion to answer your question, prospective buyer. Assumption: I suspect that the restraining bolt that the Ithorian has placed on me is preventing access to my memory core" the droid explained with a very human tone on his mechanical voice.

"All right, all right, don't get mad I'm sorry. We'll go and talk to the shop owner and see what your price is, if it's reasonable then I might just buy you."

"Suggestion: I have watched the foolish Ithorian and he will ask a high price for me. He does this out of greed, not knowledge of my true capabilities. It seems to me that the best way to get him to lower the price would be with… aggressive negotiations."

"Are you saying we should bully him?" Aspyre exclaimed to him. Bastila, Canderous, Carth and HK all shushed her and she went red again, thankfully under the protection of her trusty mask. "We are not going to threaten him!"

"Resignation: Very well, prospective buyer, the choice is yours. Please understand that you would be turning your back on what has to be, one of the best deals you would ever come across in your short lifetime."

Aspyre went to the Ithorian and started haggling, she managed to get the price down to 3500 from the original 5000 credit price, but he would not bend after that.

"But you won't get a better offer than this, you should sell it to us for 2000 credits" Bastila said, waving her hand in front of the Ithorian's face.

"Bastila!" Aspyre reproached her. "No sir, don't worry 3500 will be okay, here" she said, handing the Ithorian the credit chips. She threw Bastila a scolding tone and neither of them failed to notice the irony of the situation. She went to HK and removed his restraining bolt.

"Introduction: HK-47 is ready to serve, master! Shall I kill something for you now?"

"Kill… something for me? What? Why would you ask that?"

"Oh, I am most eager to engage in some form of unaltered violence. My circuits are trembling with anticipation at the prospect of ending some lives, master."

"No! You're not going to kill anybody! If we get in trouble then you can shoot, but never to kill HK! You shoot to wound and only if there is no way or if they are droids then you can kill them do you understand me?" Aspyre angrily scolded him, beginning to regret buying him, but not enough to give him back.

"Pleading Statement: Oh, Master you are so cruel! Please allow me to have some fun! Can I twist the Ithorian's neck? Please, Master?" The droid pleaded as if he was a young boy asking to be given permission to go outside and play.

"No HK, you do not kill anything without my express order first do you hear me?" Aspyre ordered, stepping her foot down.

The droid lowered his head as in regret and replied much in the way a scolded child would answer an angry mother.

"Disappointed Resignation: Yes, Master, I will wait for your command."

Aspyre nodded and headed out the store. Trying to fight again the feeling of déjà vu in her head. She went outside and saw that now they had a party of five. Probably a bit much, but who knows what might happen, better safe than sorry. They headed to the gate and after handing the gate keeper their license, they went outside.

Without the protection of the city, the suns were beating them even harder and she found herself drowning an entire water bottle before they had walked for ten minutes. Bastila, Carth and Canderous went on ahead and she stayed behind to speak with HK.

"Hey, sorry if I was mean to you earlier, HK. I just don't like to kill people."

"Query: But master, surely you don't mean you end up a battle when you have the chance to deliver the killing blow to your enemy?"

"Actually that's exactly what I do."

"Annoyed Statement: Oh Master, I cannot believe you are one of those foolish pacifists."

"Are you calling me foolish?" Aspyre snapped back at him.

"Retraction: I apologize master; I simply meant that I do not see the logic behind your… well logic." The droids stated with a clear apologetic tone on his voice. For a second Aspyre wondered how he did that.

"Well, I just see no need to kill my enemy. If I have beaten them, killing them would only remove them from the shame that they will have to carry with them for the rest of their lives" she explained to the droid. He was silent for a few seconds and Aspyre could almost hear his circuits working and trying to figure out her meaning.

"Realization: Ah, Master I think I see your point, by keeping them alive they get to suffer much more than if they were dead! It makes sense of course. I apologize for questioning you, Master; you are truly a mastermind of torment and pain."

Aspyre opened her mouth to contradict HK but then closed it again. As long as the droid was happy, she might as well have him believe that. They kept walking in silence when they came across a huge sand crawler in the middle of the dessert and a small group of men waving their arms at them. They sprinted towards them and saw the relieved look on their faces. Aspyre went towards the one that seemed the leader while Canderous took left flank and Carth took right. Bastila stayed in the center and HK was the rear guard.

"Oh, I can't believe you are here, please help us, we were ambushed by Tusken Raiders, there were so many of them. We managed to beat back the first wave, but they are sure to return!"

"Don't worry; we will take care of them! Are there any-"

Aspyre soon felt a tingling in the Force; she dodged and felt a blaster bolt rushing past her head, almost scorching her hair and hitting the sand crawler. She turned around and saw Bastila already in defensive position, lightsaber ignited. Canderous ran to higher ground and was firing at something, Carth mimicked him and they were both laying a barrage of blaster bolts at the very large amount of Tusken Raiders coming at them. Both Aspyre and Bastila jumped high in the air and landed in very separate areas of the raiding party, both of them surrounded. They were holding their ground against the Raiders for now, but there were more getting closer in the distance, maybe 15 more. Aspyre managed to parry a blow coming directly to her head and jumped slightly, dodging the blow directed at her feet. She landed and ducked her head to dodge the next blow as she slashed at them and cut the four of them in a second. She turned and launched a volley of blows at the remaining two, who quickly crumpled under her relentless assault. She saw Bastila turning in a circle and cutting down all of the six Raiders. They turned to see the main group and they saw Canderous and Carth finishing off the last few Raiders. They saw HK who was walking slowly towards them. He had not fired a single shot during the fight. Aspyre cocked her head to the right and was about to ask him why he had done nothing when he lifted his rifle and fired fifteen shots directly at the group coming their way; she barely managed to turn her head when she saw the fifteen of them falling down on the ground, dead with a large scorch mark in their heads.

They stood in silent awe and watched how the droid scanned the area for any more enemies. After deciding it was safe the droid turned to Aspyre and lowered his rifle.

"Affirmation: All clear master!"

Aspyre nodded and after silently gazing at him for a few minutes and deciding that what he had done was indeed, astonishing, she turned to the miners near the crawler.

"Is everybody okay?" she asked the frightened group, who nodded and thanked her. They began to fix the sand crawler and told them it would take them a few hours to get it up and running again, but that now they should be safe. They nodded and kept walking towards the northeastern part of the dessert, where the Tusken Raider enclave was. They kept walking for about five minutes when Aspyre realized something. She had not spoken, really spoken to Carth in quite a while. She began to fall back and she reached him. He greeted her and she thought of the best way to ask him.

"Hey Carth?" she inquired. He nodded at her and she kept going. "I was wondering, last time you told me that Saul Karath had betrayed you, but you kind of left me in the dark after that, remember? Is now a good time to talk about it?" Carth looked at her as if she had not noticed the huge desert around them, but the mask, that damn mask, simply stared back at him.

"Fine, whatever... Well the last thing I told you was of Saul Karath's betrayal, he gave the Sith the codes to bypass our shields and by the time I was awake, half our fleet was gone. He was the one that bombarded Telos... If only I had stopped him when he tried to leave, I might have been able to stop it... I might have been able to safe them."

"Them? Them who?" Carth looked at her and sighed.

"My wife, and… my son" he admitted to her. Aspyre gasped and she felt her eyes wet. She tried not to think about it, but the image of the little girl in Taris came flying to her mind. She saw vividly one more time as the girl went flying through the air and held to the edge for her life. And she saw intensely how she fell into the darkness, to her certain death. She opened her eyes and tried to wipe them, but her fingers banged awkwardly against her mask. Carth simply looked at her funny and kept talking. "It was too late by the time my fleet arrived, the entire surface of Telos was destroyed and most of the Sith were gone. When landed and I started to look for the survivors. I found my wife. She, she was bad. I screamed at the doctors, but they didn't make it in time and she… she-died in my arms."

Aspyre could almost feel the sorrow coming from the body and mind of Carth Onasi and for a second wondered how anybody could live with that kind of pain. She thought for a moment and noticed that Carth had not mentioned his son.

"And… and your son?" she awkwardly asked.

"I… I don't know, they… they never found any trace of him. I followed the reports for years, always searching his name or looking for clues, but after a few years, I… I just stopped." Aspyre felt her heart break and she reached out to him. It was bad enough to have his wife die on his arm, but to not know the fate of his son? That must be hell for him. She grabbed his arm and for a second her tears obscured her field of vision and turned everything blurry. She looked up at him and managed to mouth an "I'm sorry" but because of her mask he only saw her wet eyes. She was gonna take it off but at that moment she felt Canderous looking at them and she decided not to. "It's okay Aspyre, thank you, I actually feel a little bit better. I-I guess that saying it out loud gives me some kind of closure."

Aspyre let him go and they kept walking in silence. She felt him regain his composure and they caught up with the rest. They were almost halfway there, or at least she hoped they were halfway there. They saw a large piece of metal and decided to ran towards it for cover of the sun. They were jogging towards it when Aspyre heard HK saying something to her.

"Threat Report: Master I have detected three life forms not far from our position, they are 400 meters East of our current position, one of them is heavily armed while the other two are nothing special" the droid reported without breaking stride or even turning his head to check with his visual sensors if he was right. He must be supremely confident in his radar capabilities. The group got to shade and they sat down. Aspyre turned to HK and found him still scanning the area.

"Are they moving?"

"Response: Negative master, they seem to waiting for someone. They are neither in an offensive position nor are they acting as bait."

"It's Jagi" Canderous grunted. Aspyre looked at him, noticing his grim look on his face and his steady grip on his rifle.

"Maybe, only we should go. The rest of you could stay here" she offered to them. Both Carth and Bastila, despite being covered in sweat shook their heads in disapproval and got up. Canderous looked at them and started walking towards Jagi. They all but climbed the dunes and reached a valley of some sort, with Jagi and two Rodians standing in the middle of it. Jagi saw the five of them coming down, a grim look covered his face.

"I see you brought reinforcements" he commented dryly.

"As have you, but don't worry, she came against my wishes. If your thugs don't fight she won't."

"I don't wish to see any more death today. Please, can't we reach a peaceful solution?" Aspyre hopefully pleaded. Both Canderous and Jagi threw her a dirty look; Jagi's slightly dirtier than Canderous' and she fell silent.

"He has slandered me! He has mocked and ridiculed my honor! That is a debt that can only be paid with his blood!" he almost yelled at her. She winced and looked down at the ground. Jagi gripped his rifle with white knuckles.

"I have mocked nothing that is not there! You know nothing about honor, Canderous! You betrayed me and my comrades that day, for your glory! That was an unnecessary sacrifice! That battle would have been won either way!"

Aspyre looked at Canderous and spoke so softly, they almost did not hear her.

"Canderous… Is that true?"

Canderous looked at her with a slight look of surprise but no shame on it.

"No, I did not send them to their deaths. I had a plan, I was going to divert the enemy's attention and when they were focused on fighting Jagi and his forces, we would strike them from behind and crush them from both fronts. But they made a mistake! I saw an opening in their defenses. I had to strike them at that precise moment before they could regroup! I had no choice!" Canderous defended himself.

"The battle would have been won either way!" Jagi retorted, gripping his rifle tightly.

"At a larger cost, I would not have sacrificed more men than I absolutely have to!" Jagi snorted at that and he continued. "Mandalore teaches us that we must be flexible and creative on the battlefield. You may contradict me, but will you contradict him as well?"

Jagi looked shocked and confused at his words, all the color drained from his face. He was silent for a few moments and stared at the ground, an embarrassed and regretful look on his face. He almost dropped his rifle as he rose his gaze from the golden sands and met the older warrior's unflinching gaze head on.

"You… you're right of course... You're right. I should have not doubted you. I guess that… I was just angry that we were used as bait... I should have never insulted you Canderous, I apologize. I must cleanse this insult with my blood" he said as he lifted his rifle and placed it against his chin. Aspyre realized what he was about to do and using all of her might she placed the three of them on stasis. She held them with all her might, but Jagi, being the trained Mandalorian he was, was resisting strongly and she felt her powers begin to drain.

"Aspyre, stay out of this!" Canderous told her, but she shook her head.

"There has to be another way! I won't-I won't let him throw his life away!" she told him. She turned at Jagi and fixed him with a look he could see even though her mask. "Don't you pull that trigger you... you coward!" she yelled at him.

She saw him fix her with a deadly glare. He closed his eyes and concentrated with all his might, trying to break her hold on him. She was beginning to falter and she would not be able to hold him much longer. Using her bond she asked Bastila for help, but the Jedi shook her head and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked at her with a shocked face and Bastila replied with a sad one. She closed her eyes and hugged her, breaking her concentration. A second later she heard a blaster bolt firing; she trembled in Bastila's arms and started weeping. She heard a few more bolts being fired their way, but Bastila created a shield around them and HK returned fire and soon the two Rodians were dead on the ground. She kept crying as she was led back to shelter by Bastila and Carth, the feeling of her failures weighing even more on her.

They sat down and she looked straight at the ground, tears streaking down her neck and falling on the sand. Why did there had to be so much killing? Why couldn't she stop it? Why wouldn't her friends help her stop it? She grew angrier and sadder with every question that popped in her head. Why did Malak have to be so cruel? Why couldn't people just let other people life their lives free? Why were people so selfish? Why couldn't she fix it? She placed her head on her hands and tried to stop thinking, but flashed kept coming at her head. Trask, Calo Nord, the little girl in Taris, Juhani, and now Jagi. All people she had to watch die, all people that she could've, she should've helped. The faces started circling around her head and she felt her vision being obscured by them.

"No, please. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please, leave me alone, please. I'm sorry" she sobbed gloomily in her hands. Her companions looked at her and she felt Bastila sitting down next to her. She hugged her and she hid in her chest, hiding from everybody. For a second she was back in her home, in Deralia, hugging her mother and not having to worry about anything. "People are so mean, they're so mean" she whispered to Bastila, even though everybody heard her.

Bastila nodded and combed her hair with her fingers. She tried to keep Aspyre's pain from getting to her, but it too much, and it was threatening to drown her. She was about to say something when Canderous stood up and looked down at them, his face unusually cold and his jaw so tight the words barely left his mouth.

"We have a job to do; the longer we stay here the more time Malak has to kill more innocent people and destroy more worlds, we need to move. Now."

Carth stood up too.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with Canderous, we have to move, we can worry about this later, when Malak has been stopped. Now stand back in line, soldier!" he told Aspyre.

Bastila looked up at him in shock. Carth Onasi was not that insensitive, she was about to protest when Aspyre separated from her and stood up.

"Yes, sir" she responded quietly and started walking towards the enclave.

Bastila got up quickly and followed them, suspicion in her mind. Aspyre had closed her side of the bond. She looked at her all the way to the enclave but found her step as firm as usual, her pose as straight as it ever was and her hands as limber and ready as they used to be. It was as if nothing had happened. She got more worried when she saw a few Tusken Raiders and Aspyre placed them on stasis and threw her lightsaber at them. She sliced through the four of them in cold blood and retrieved it. She hooked it and kept walking as calmly as she was before. Canderous and Carth both looked at Bastila, silently asking how bad she was. Bastila however shook her head and looked at the ground. This was not good.

00

They reached the enclave and they managed to hack inside without the Sand People noticing them. Aspyre turned to HK and ordered him to speak to the first Raider he saw and inform him that they came in peace and wished to solve their situation with Czerka. HK started to protest, but Aspyre shot him a murderous look that almost burned a hole on her mask and he fell silent.

They opened the door and managed to sneak inside. A pair of Raiders turned around to face them and HK immediately told them they came in peace. The Raiders where very confused and for a few seconds they kept their sticks up. They turned to speak to each other and then told them to follow them to their chief. They obliged and they were taken to a large tent in the middle of the enclave. A few tougher and taller Tusken Raiders were standing side by side in the entrance and they immediately fixed them with a careful stare.

"HK, tell him that we wish no problem with his people and only want to speak" she told him with an icy cold voice. HK translated and then told her that the chief seemed intrigued, but that he did not trust them. "Tell him that they need to stop killing innocent people that have done nothing to harm them. Tell him that we could kill them all where they stand, but we want a peaceful solution to this conflict." HK translated and the chief was silent for a second. He roared in anger but did not make any sudden moves. HK nodded and told them that the chief was going to ignore her threat, but that the people have invaded their land and butchered many of them. The chief said that they were fighting to protect their land from those that would ravage it. Aspyre was silent for a second and thought on what he told them.

"Tell him that the people that they are killing are not willingly destroying their land, they are merely trying to survive in this planet."

HK translated and the chief thought for a second. Then he roared something at them that did not sound as anger as the last set of screams.

"Translation: he says that he might consider stopping his attacks on Czerka, but you must bring him something as a token of good faith. He says his people are going to make a long trip, and they need water. He says that if you bring him a moisture vaporizer the attacks will be greatly reduced and they will move away from here to deeper in the dessert."

Aspyre nodded and told him that they accepted the deal. The chief told them to return only when they had the vaporizers and they left the enclave. At the end they asked the Tusken Raider at the entrance if there were any caves around here. He grumpily told them that there was one nearby where a Krayt Dragon lived, he pointed them at it and snickered, hoping that they might get killed and save him the trouble. Aspyre bowed and thanked him and they left.

"Aspyre are you okay?" Bastila asked her.

"We need to find that cave and get to the star map. Bastila have you ever placed a Krayt Dragon on stasis?"

"I… No, but they are not that different from other beasts are they not? I think we can do it" she said grimly. Aspyre nodded and they made their way to the cave. They saw a green Twi'lek standing in the mouth of it shaking his head. They approached him and he greeted them kindly.

"Ah, greetings fellow hunters" he said with a thick accent in Huttese. Aspyre greeted him and they asked him what he was doing here. "There is a Krayt Dragon living here. Usually we don't deal with creatures this size, but this one has made its home very close to the port, and it poses a threat to us. I came here to deal with it. Perhaps you can help me" he said with a thoughtful look on his face.

"We were actually looking for a way to get inside that cave, what can we do to help?"

"We need to lure him out of his cavern. I have planted mines all over the entrance. If he leaves, then he will die. I am rather disappointed that I could not face him in a more competitive manner, but this is not a matter of honor. I am doing this for the safety of the port."

"There is no honor in killing" she told him with the same steel covered voice. She walked towards the entrance and activated her lightsaber on both ends. She saw the creature and gasped. It was huge! It was as big as the Ebon Hawk itself and much longer than it. Its tail was coiled and she saw a human arm dangling from between its huge yellow teeth. She gulped down the fear threatening to rise on her chest and pulled out her tiny blaster. She fired three times at it and the beast roared. She felt her body tremble and she jumped back to her companions, safely bypassing the mines. She heard the dragon roar again and she fired more blots towards it. It angrily came out of his cave and fixed his gaze on them, he started walking towards them, the ground shaking with every step. The dragon stepped on the first mine and a huge explosion surrounded it. It roared in anger and pain as two more explosions came from its left and right side. It kept walking towards the assailants and another blast engulfed it. Its vision became blurred and blood dripped from its mouth. The mighty beast roared one last time before it collapse and one last mine activated as its head touched it. The mine erupted, sending chunks of meat flying in all the directions. She covered her head as a few chunks landed next to them. The Twi'lek walked over to it and opened his stomach with a vibroknife. He took out two pearls and walked over to her. He handed her the biggest one and thanked her for her help. Then he got up on his speeder and blasted away to the port.

Aspyre, Bastila, Carth, Canderous and HK entered the cave and began searching for the Star Map. Thankfully the cave was not that big and looked more like a hole on the side of the mountain. They were looking around and after a few minutes they felt a dark presence coming from the end of the cave. Aspyre went near it and activated the Star Map. She quickly connected her datapad and was about to leave when she saw a dead body next to it. She went near it and recognized the man. He had the same light brown hair that Bastila had and the same eyes she did. She sadly closed them and called Bastila on their bond.

_"Bastila."_

_"Yes?"_

_"Come here."_

_"Did you found it?"_

_"… Yes, and... something else."_

She heard Bastila running to her and she laid her eyes on her father. She heard her gasp at the sight and fall to her knees. She turned her head and leaned on the wall of the cave. It was too much; she just couldn't bear to watch. Bastila pressed her head next to him, sobbing uncontrollably. She held to his shirt, tears falling down from her eyes on his face.

"Father… why did you leave me?" she whispered. "Why? Why?"

Aspyre felt her heart break and her knees faltered. She walked over to Bastila and found her sobbing next to her father. After a few minutes she searched through his clothes and found the holocron her mother wanted. She hastily placed it on her pocket, getting up shakily. She slowly nodded at Aspyre and they began to walk out of the cave. Aspyre dried her eyes as she saw Canderous, Carth and HK waiting for them. They got to the mouth and were greeted with four speeders and six men waiting for them.

"I've got to say, you've led me on quite a chase. But it ends here, this time the Sith will not interfere with my hunt" Calo Nord said with a grin on his face. Canderous' face light up when he saw him and a grin covered his face.

"Calo, I knew you weren't useless enough to die by that little piece of metal" he said tightening his grip on his rifle. The pair stared down and Carth and HK aimed at the rest of the men. The stood quietly, waiting to see how made the first move, when Aspyre spoke.

"Calo, I am tired of all the killing I have had to do today. I'm giving you one chance. You know that you cannot win. You know that, leave now" she told him, glad that he was alive but regretting that fact that now they would be forced to fight him again.

Calo merely looked at her and grinned. He fired four shots at Canderous while jumping out of the way of his blasts. HK dropped two men before they managed to fir on him and hit him in the head. He stumbled back and stopped firing to reroute power. Aspyre cursed under her breath and jumped on top of Calo. She slashed at his arm, but he pulled back at the last second and drew his blade. Calo pushed her back and he threw a poison grenade at her. She slapped it away but some smoke got into her lungs. She started coughing and barely managed to block his hit before she kicked him in his face and threw her lightsaber at the last mercenary standing. She jumped back as Calo stumbled and she grabbed her lightsaber, activating her second blade as soon as it came into contact with her hand before launching a flurry of cuts at him. He was doing his best to keep up, but soon the Force-boosted Aspyre was too fast for him and she cut off his arm. Calo jumped back in pain, holding his severed shoulder as his screams filled Aspyre's ears. She closed her lightsaber and started to walk away when she heard something being clicked. She spun around and barely managed to lift a shield before the thermal detonator went off. The shield was solid, but a thermal detonator exploding less than two meters away was not something easily ignored and she was sent flying outside the cave, rolling for a few feet down a dune, getting sand everywhere. She groaned and managed to stand up. She saw Canderous and Carth running towards her. She waved at them as she climbed back towards the cave, easing their minds. They nodded at her and the three made it back to where Bastila and HK were.

"Are you okay?" Aspyre asked her. Ironic considering she had just been blown 15 meters in the air, but Bastila only shook her head.

"You?"

"I'll live."

The five of them were quiet for a few moments. She looked over to where Calo had been. Only a large pile of red and a few piece of clothing were left. She winced and walked over to the speeders, doing her best to push the massive amount of death she had witness today to the back of her head, she would mourn them later.

"They still work" she informed them and the four of them walked over to them. Carth got on the one in the right. Bastila sat on the one next to him, Canderous sat on Calo's and HK somehow managed to sit on the last one. She looked at them and decided to sit behind Canderous. The trip back was an uneventful one. They were all tired of the events of the day, but surprisingly, it was still not very late, just barely after noon. They reached the gate and went straight to the Czerka office. Canderous told them he had to think and went back to the Hawk without another word. Bastila told Aspyre she was going to go to the cantina and she nodded. She and Carth went inside and they were greeted by the same bored woman.

"Welcome back, have you done what we asked?"

"Not yet, nice to see you too" Carth replied dryly.

"We need moisture vaporizers" Aspyre said before the woman responded.

"We-we have some, they are worth five hundred credits. When will you deal with our situation?"

"Right after you sell us the vaporizers" Aspyre told her, getting out a five hundred credit chip.

The woman looked at her; she sighed and went to the back. After a few minutes she arrived with a medium sized box in her hands. Aspyre opened it, checked the contents and gave the woman the chip. She was about to leave when she remembered something. Something very important. Griff! She asked Carth to go to the Ebon Hawk and get Mission and he nodded and left, but not before giving her the I-know-what-you're-doing look.

"Do you have a worker by the name of Griff Vao?"

The woman thought for a second and shrugged at her, uninterested in her question. Aspyre fixed her an invisible cold stare and asked again, her voice layered with the Force.

"Do you have a worker here by the name of Griff Vao?"

"Ah, yes, yes we do. Or did actually, he was a really bad worker. We would have fired him, but we need every possible man working. Maybe it would have been better if we fired him, that way he might not have been taken by the Sand People."

"What? When did that happen?"

"About three days ago, he was "working" at one of our sand crawlers. They got attacked and only a few of our miners came back. We send a search party some time after him, but they found nothing."

Aspyre was about to protest when she heard the door open. Mission's friendly face greeted her and she was very grateful she had her mask on. She gestured her outside and carefully broke the news to her. She saw her pretty face turn from her cheerful blue to a dark purple and then slightly to a sickly green.

"We have to go see if he's still alive! I mean he was a lousy person and all, but he's my brother, we have to help him!"

"Don't worry Mission I got it all figured out. That's what this moisture vaporizer and HK are for. We are going to go back to the enclave and give this to them, they will reduce their attacks on Czerka and then maybe we can see if they will give Griff back to us" she said with smile on her face. Mission seemed reassured by it and sadly smiled at her.

"Request: Master, will I be able to shoot some of those meatbags in the dessert?"

Aspyre turned to face him.

"Meatbags?"

"Clarification: Yes Master, you organic life forms are composed of organs and a lot of liquids, all wrapped up in your flesh. Hence the term, Meatbag" the droid calmly explained. Aspyre laughed at the funny description and felt much better for the first time in the day.

"Ok, if we find any of them in the dessert and they attack us, then you can shoot them."

The droid very gladly expressed his thanks to Aspyre. Mission looked at the pair with a strange look on her face. Aspyre somehow managed to make the weirdest friends. Hell, she had made friends with her! Aspyre looked at her and they started to make their way to the Enclave. She saw the speeders parked right outside of the gate and was surprised when Aspyre climbed on top of one.

"How'd you get those?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at the sight of blood covering the handles of one of them. Aspyre sighed and told her it was a long story. "I'll bet."

The trio quickly found their way back in the enclave and they were speaking with the very surprised chieftain. She gave him the moisture vaporizer and he gave her his gaffi stick as prove that they would keep their word, which she took with a curtly nod.

"Oh, HK, ask him if they have a blue Twi'lek prisoner by the name of Griff Vao." HK translated and the chief responded quickly to him in an irritated tone.

"Translation: He says they do have a blue prisoner. He says he is a pathetic excuse of life and that his very presence here defiles their land. He says he is not even worth the trouble of killing."

"Yeah that sounds like Griff alright" Mission stated.

"So can we take him?"

HK translated and the chief nodded. They thanked him and went to the prisoner's cell. As soon as they opened the door their eyes landed on a blue Twi'lek with pale skin, large shriveled lekkus and a desperate look on his face, he looked like he had not eaten in days.

"Oh, hey you there! I'm a big Czerka executive, please get me out of here and you will receive a large reward!"

"Griff… don't you recognize me? It's me, Mission" the little girl stated in a soft voice. The older Twi'lek's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in surprise.

"Mission? Mission! It's really you!" He ran and hugged her tightly. "When I heard what happened on Taris I thought you were dead! Oh I can't believe this!"

"I'm really glad to see you too Griff" she said as she parted from him. She looked at him with worried eyes and proceeded to ask him what had been bothering her for quite a while. "Griff I… I ran into Lena, she said that… she told me that leaving me on Taris had been your idea. That's not true right? She was lying right?"

Griff stiffed at the question, suddenly realizing that he was not out of the fire just yet. After an uncomfortable silence that told Mission everything she needed to know, he opened his mouth and spoke,

"Well, you know sis, there's the truth and then… there's the _truth_. I was planning to come back for you as soon as I got the credits, honest! But credits have been very hard to come by you know?"

Mission went pale and her eyes watered.

"You… I-I can't believe you. You abandoned me! You left me to my own fate in that hellhole!"

"Sis, we both know you were big enough to take care of yourself and beside you're here now, it's all turned out for the best!"

Mission went even whiter and she started to tremble with anger. Aspyre sent a warning glance Griff's way, but both her mask and Griff's natural stupidity did not allow him to see it.

"You… you bastard! I can't believe you! I half-wish we had not come and rescued you! Come on Aspyre, let's go. You can find your own way out of here, can you, Griff?" she asked, spitting the last word.

"Um, yeah, I can do that, but wait before you leave. You, um… seem to be doing quite good for yourself you know, shiny armors and fancy blasters and masks" he said pointing at Aspyre. "I was wondering if maybe you had a few spare credits you could give me you know, just to get back on my feet."

Mission dropped her blaster and turned to look back at her brother. She clenched her fists and walked over to him and with a speed that would have shamed any Jedi; she lifted her right leg and landed it cleanly between his legs. Aspyre heard a sickening thump and Griff fell on the ground, moaning with pain. Mission then procedeed to procure a bone that was on the ground and started savagery beating him with it. She would have kept going, but Aspyre grabbed her and pulled her back, kicking and screaming at her to get off her. She grabbed the girl with all her might and threw her out the cell and quickly locked the door with the Force as she turned to Griff and examined his wounds. Deciding they were not very bad she quickly healed him and sat down next to him, trying really hard to ignore the banging and shouting on the bone and cloth door.

"Thanks" he shyly responded.

"You really disappointed her, Griff. She thought that you were a hero, she thought you were amazing."

"I know, I disappointed her, but she's always been too much of a hot head for her own good, she'll calm down eventually."

The cloth began to tear and Aspyre swore she hear a bone crack.

"I don't think so Griff, she's really mad" she told him. He looked at her and they were silent for a few seconds, the pounding on the door having died down, only slightly. "Here" she said giving him a five hundred credit chip. "Use this wisely; don't spend them on stupid things okay?" He hastily nodded and hugged her gratefully. He thanked her and they both stood up. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and managed to stop Mission's tackle before she reached Griff.

"Let me go! I'll kill him! I'll rip his lekku apart and strangle him with them! Let me go! I hate you! I hate you! Go to hell, you bastard!" she yelled, trying desperately to break free of Aspyre's telepathic hold. The two girls rolled in the sand and Mission tried as hard as she could to grab her brother's leg or foot or something she could us to bring him closer to her punching range.

"Bye Mission, thank you for saving me. I'm really glad you're not dead!" he added as he ran away.

"I will see you in hell, Griff Vao!" She yelled at him. She saw him turn the corner and she stopped struggling. Gradually Aspyre let her go and she turned around to face her, tears in her eyes. Aspyre pulled her towards her, but this time she hugged her. Despite being nearly the same size, Mission felt a very motherly warmth coming from her. She hugged her tightly and let the tears flow freely. "I hate him! I hate him! I hate him! I want him to die!" she angrily murmured into her ear.

Aspyre shushed and hugged her. They stayed there while Mission regained her composure. She saw her breaking from her and standing straight up. She wiped her eyes and they headed out the enclave. Aspyre would occasionally throw a few worried glances at Mission, but she would either ignore them or look at the ground or she would create some sort of distraction, like playing with her blaster or kicking up sand "accidentally". They returned to the Ebon Hawk and Mission went straight to their quarters, brushing past even Zaalbar. Aspyre found Bastila in the main room and sat down next to her. She saw her father's holocron in her hands and tensed right away.

"You kept it?"

"Oh, well after I spoke with my mother she told me that she wanted me to keep it. I think she just needed to be sure that he was…" she broke off.

Aspyre grabbed the beautiful girl next to her and held her tightly. They would have stayed like that all night, but they heard a cough behind them and turned around. Aspyre managed to glimpse her watch as she did, it had been one and a half hours since they entered the Ebon Hawk. They saw Mission wearing her white and yellow jumpsuit; she walked over and sat down next to Aspyre.

"You two sure have become close in the past few weeks" she noted with a sad smile on her face, her eyes only slightly red. Aspyre blushed and she cursed herself for taking off her mask. Bastila on the other hand smiled at her and shrugged.

"Our bond makes things much easier, I think we have learned much from each other and become very close friends."

"Oh I can see that, very close indeed" she said mischievously. Aspyre shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she did not like where this was going. "Anyways, it's nice seeing you to so together. You look cute" she told them as she stood up and left.

The two girls were left slightly confused by the blue Twi'lek. Bastila naively wondered just how cute they must look, while Aspyre wondered how they would be able to keep hiding their relationship from their companions. She wondered for a few seconds, but her thoughts were interrupted by Bastila's kiss on her lips.


	16. Setting Meatbags On Fire

Chapter 16

_Bastila was thrown in the bed. She tried to move, but her legs where useless, she tried screaming for help, but nobody came and her screams fell in deaf ears. She saw a man with no face approaching her. He hit her in the face so hard she lost her orientation and could no longer move. She felt him rip her clothes off. She tried to fight him, but she was too weak. She kicked and screamed, but the man ignored her and punched her again. She started crying desperately hoping that somebody would protect her. She felt so weak, so useless. She opened her eyes and saw Brejick staring back at her, a gigantic grin covering his wicked face. He raised his fist again and Bastila felt it connecting with her right cheek, rippling through her face and causing her teeth to rip the inside of her mouth. Her tears slid into her unhinged jaw and mixed with her blood, causing her to choke. More and more blood came out of her mouth and the only place for it to go was down her throat, she felt it blocking her airway and she thought she was about to die. The lack of air started to destroy her brain cells and she felt as her brain began to shut down by sections. She opened her eyes and saw Brejick grinning at her, she tried to move, to spit the blood out of her mouth, but she couldn't. She felt as the last part of her brain began to shut down when she heard a voice screaming out to her._

_ "Wake up! Bastila, wake up!"_

00

Bastila woke up with a jump and she felt Aspyre hugging her tightly. Aspyre was crying on her shoulder and trembling heavily. No. She was trembling. She was taking extremely undersized and hasty breaths, her lungs ablaze with the effort of keeping her body supplied with oxygen. Slowly she lifted her arms and grabbed Aspyre as hard as she could, pressing her as close to her as the laws of physics allowed her. They spent all the night like that, afraid of going back to sleep, afraid of seeing Brejick's face once again. Bastila saw the twin suns rising in the sky through the hatch of their quarters, bringing with them a new day, their last day on Tatooine. She looked at Aspyre's sleeping face, at around three in the morning she had finally fallen asleep. It was beautiful, her lips were wet and pressed together and her hair traveled from her head to her waist and it wrapped around it and ended up rubbing Bastila's thighs. She stroked her face and kissed her a few times and at the seventh kiss she woke up and returned it. Bastila felt much better when they parted and a smile actually drew on her mouth. Aspyre did not return it however and looked at her with sad eyes as Bastila shook her head at her.

"Please don't worry about it, my love."

"How can I not worry about you? I love you Bastila, and knowing that you are suffering like this breaks my heart!" Aspyre said as fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. Bastila grabbed her face and planted a wet, comforting, reassuring kiss on her lips.

"As long as I have you on my side everything will be okay, Aspyre."

The little girl shuddered, but smiled at her. After a few minutes of silent gazing and pondering, they got up from their bed… Aspyre thought for a moment, when had it become _their _bed? Bastila must have picked up her thoughts because she finished the idea for her.

_"Probably the first time we were together" _she thought with a grin on her face. Aspyre blushed slightly at the memory and giggled. They were supposed to leave today after getting everything ready. Bastila was going to say goodbye to her mother, who was leaving in three days to Coruscant. Mission was going, more than slightly forced by Aspyre, to go say goodbye to Griff, and Canderous was going to go to the dune sea, to do what she had dared not to ask, but she really did not need to do so. They had breakfast with a very grumpy Mission and an only slightly happier Carth. They asked him where Canderous was, but he just shrugged. Aspyre went to her quarters and got her mask, safely securing it, not that she thought she would need it, but she thought it would be best if Griff did not remember her face at all. They waved good bye to Bastila and walked towards the Czerka office. As Aspyre opened the door, she was greeted by a cheerful blue Twi'lek.

"Welcome to Czerka, how- Oh it's you! And Mission! How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks Griff" Aspyre replied.

"I'm mad, thanks Griff" Mission said at the same time.

Griff look at the two girls with a confused expression on his face. Aspyre pushed Mission with the Force right next to Griff, forcing her to look at him.

"We're leaving Tatooine, probably for good. I just came here to say good bye because she made me. So good bye" she told him with a flat voice. Griff just looked at her and sadly nodded. He was silent for a second and then hugged her. Aspyre saw Mission's hands curl into fists, but she let him finish. He let her go and she turned around and left the office in a blur, not looking at Aspyre or anywhere but the floor. Aspyre was about to follow her, but he stopped her.

"Wait, wait!" he told her with a pleading look on his face. Aspyre turned around, arms crossed and waited for him to keep going. "Look I was wondering if you could help me one last time, I'm not asking for credits!" he hastily added when he saw her cock her head to the right questioning him. "Look I made a deal with this guy, we are gonna synthesize Tarisian Ale. However, now that Taris blew up, the only place you can get Tech Glands, that is the main ingredient in the drink, is in Kasshyk."

"So?"

"Well, if you happen to go to Kasshyk, could you get me some Tech Glands? Think of it as an investment, you will get your money's worth! I swear!" he pleaded again. He was about to go on, but his gaze was drawn away from Aspyre to something over her shoulder. Using the Force she checked it was Mission and she felt the air freeze in the office. She turned around softly and she saw Mission paler than she had even seen her, veins being actually visible on her now white skin. She cautiously took a step back and warned Griff with her eyes, but again, he did not see it. Mission launched herself at him and threw him to the ground, punching him and pulling at his lekkus, as if trying to rip them off so she could strangle him with them. Aspyre grabbed her friend and began to pull her away, but Mission managed to get free from her grasp and she was obligated to use the Force to hold her in place. Mission threw her an extremely dirty look and spoke with ice coming out of her mouth.

"Aspyre, you better let me go. Right now!"

Aspyre shook her head and started to pull her out of the office, but she had forgotten to freeze her arms, so in a last desperate attempt to hurt her brother, she pulled her blaster and shot at him, but thanks to Aspyre's hold on her she could not aim properly and the shots only flew near him, crashing against the floor and walls, wrecking only a few supplies Czerka would not miss. Aspyre ended up having to place Mission in stasis to prevent her from destroying the store and yelling insults, both in Huttese and Basic at her brother. She took her back to the Ebon Hawk, placed her in the main room and lifted the Stasis; the berserker teenager launched herself at her, furious at not letting her rip her brother to shreds. She felt the Twi'lek's weight throwing her to the ground and grabbing her arms, she struggled to get up, but the girl would not let her.

"Let me go Mission!"

"Why do you keep helping him? He doesn't deserve it! He abandoned me and the second he saw me all he cared was getting credits out of me! WHY?" she yelled at her directly one her covered face. Aspyre flinched, but did not reply. "Why are you so good? Why can you do what I cannot? Why?" Mission yelled, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Mission, it's just how I am... I can't bear to see somebody that needs help not being helped, and I believe that there is hope for your brother."

Mission held her even tighter and she felt her blood flow being cut off. Mission angrily got up from her, throwing her arms against the floor. She saw her stomping to her quarter, closing and shutting the door behind her, gritting her teeth and cursing gloomily at the universe. Aspyre sighed and took of her mask, she cleaned the wet spots where Mission's tears had fallen and placed it back. She got up from the floor and dusted off her white cloak. Like Griff had said, she was too much of hot head for her own good. Aspyre only hoped that she would, that she could, cool off with time. Switching the topic in her head, she recalled Mission's face when she had entered the office. There had been a pure uncontrolled icy murder in her glare. She had wanted to kill him. She had truly wanted to take the life away from his body. When she had pinned her down, her look had changed, she was confused, hurt and angry, but the murderous intentions had left her mind. At least she thought they had... she hoped they had.

"What happened?" Carth inquired when he saw her dusting herself. "I heard Mission yelling."

"She's just mad because I wouldn't let her kill her brother" she explained to him. Taken aback by her response he asked for some clarification. "Remember the brother that she loved who was so great and taught her everything? Well it turns out he was nothing but a pathetic excuse for life. Needless to say, she got very mad and I had to bring her forcefully back here before Czerka called reinforcements to kill her."

Carth nodded and smiled imagining the little blue Twi'lek kicking and punching a bigger one. He shook his head and went to cockpit to get ready for takeoff. He had already warmed up the Ebon Hawk's engine and now he only had to check the ship's navigation systems. Aspyre went to the outside of the Hawk and saw Canderous coming back, a grim look on his face.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"Alright" he growled back at them.

"How was the dune sea?" she asked him as she cocked her head to the side.

"Fine" he said as he walked past her.

She stayed in the ramp for a while, debating if it was safe to go and speak to him. She decided she had nothing to lose really; he wasn't going to kill her… probably… and much to gain by going to see him. She walked to the garage and found him sitting on top of the swoop.

"What's eating you, Canderous?" she inquired curiously. He was silent for a few moments, his gaze lost in the distance, as if trying to read his own words from afar.

"It's… it's this business with Jagi. It has affected me more than I thought it would. I… I think I need a little time to clear my head" he told her, looking down at the ground.

"I'm here if you need to talk about it" she threw over her shoulder as walked towards the main room, moving her hips just slightly more than what was needed. She heard Canderous exhaled in pleasant surprise and she grinned, satisfied of herself. She sat down and wondered how far should she take this, after all, she was with Bastila, wasn't she? She pondered for a moment, what should she do? She really, really, really liked Canderous, he was so strong, so handsome, and damn, could he fight! But Bastila, she was so beautiful, so kind, so wonderful and she was so strong and agile in body and mind. She sighed as she played with her hair, twirling it with her index finger in a tight circle, pondering her current situation. She was so deep in thought she barely noticed HK walking towards her.

"Query: Master, you seem to be in a rather conflicted mood, you brain activity is much higher than normal, are you alright?"

"Humph? Thanks HK, I'm okay... I was just thinking about my current situation."

"Extrapolation: Ah, thinking about the future battles to come? Yes, I share your enthusiasm; I too look forward to shooting and setting meatbags on fire. Perhaps we will walk into an ambush; it would be most satisfying to kill such a large group of enemies as they simply keep walking towards you, most convenient."

"I… Yeah that's what I meant HK, I was thinking of the battles ahead" she sarcastically replied. HK however, was not programmed to read sarcasm, or he was that function had been disabled, and he took her answer as an affirmative. A thought occurred in her head and she decided they still had a few more hours until they took off. "HK, how did you end up here in Tatooine?"

"Uncomfortable Response: That… is not a very pleasant topic to discuss Master… I was found by the Ithorian in a junk pile, and he repaired most of my vital systems. After he fixed me, he placed me for sale and you bought me. I however, have no memory as to why I was in that junk pile to begin with."

"Wait a second… You said that it was the restraining bolt that didn't allow access to your memory core."

"Correction: Ah… Not quite master, you see I had insufficient data at the time, and I assumed that it was because of the restraining bolt that I was unavailable to recover my memory. I was also forced to keep you intrigued in an effort to get you to buy me. I am truly sorry master for the deception, master."

"Mmm, it's okay HK, don't worry about it" she reassured him.

She waved him away and he continued his route of the ship's escape routes and his checkup and tuning of the turrets. She heard Bastila walking up the ramp and smiled at her. She got up, hugged her and went to the cockpit to tell Carth they were ready. He nodded and after clearing with control, not that they needed to, there were no other ships around in the entire space port; they left the desolate planet behind. Aspyre watched as they rose up in the air and soon the ship exited the thin atmosphere. The star glittered brightly through the emptiness of space, surrounding the Ebon Hawk. Carth punched in the coordinates for Dantooine and they entered hyperspace with the by now expected thrust of speed. Aspyre saw the bright purple tunnel open up in front of them and swallow the ship whole like it usually did. She watched the shape and color shifting walls of the tunnel for a very long time, until she felt tired and went back to her quarters. She found Mission sitting on her bed, still fuming furiously. She gingerly sat down next to her and laid a hand on her leg as she took off her mask. She twitched upon contact, but did not push away.

"How are you?"

"I'm sorry I jumped on you, I was just so mad I did not even know what I was doing until I was on top of you" she said softly but still angrily.

"It's okay Mission, I know you must have been very mad. I forgive you" she had not finished the sentence when Mission looked up at her in surprise again.

"There you go again! How do you do that? How can you be so forgiving, so understanding? How are you so good?" she snapped as she stood up quickly.

"I'm sorry Mission… that is just the way I am. Back in Deralia I used to be just like this, I just want to help as many people as I can."

"I can't believe this! You are so good; you make me feel like I was a horrible person! I see you helping so many people and giving your credits away and I feel like I was so selfish! And yet when the chance to help comes my way I don't do it!" Mission ranted at her, her skin color changing from light blue to purple. "You gave that woman yesterday 2000 credits when she only asked for 500! Why did you do that? I cannot even bring myself to forgive my brother for what he did to me and you have _twice _thrown yourself in my way to protect him!"

Aspyre saw the teenager turn a shade of deep purple as she kept ranting to her, about her and because of her. Aspyre turned redder and redder and desperately tried to find a way to calm her down, but was unable to. At one point Mission brought her face millimeters away from hers and she thought of the only thing that calmed her down. She grabbed Mission's lekkus and hastily pulled her face against hers.

00

The little blue Twi'lek remembered the first time she had gone to the under city in Taris, she had been surprised then by the radical change between the under city and the upper city, and even more with the outcast city. She remembered the first time she had seen a Rackghoul; she had been very surprised back then. She even remembered the time she had met Big Z, she had been very, very surprised back then. She remembered the time she had seen the Rancor in the sewers, she had been so surprised she almost pissed her pants right where she stood. But all of those things seemed mundane compared to how surprised she was right now. She felt Aspyre's lips press against hers and force her to shut up. She murmured something to her but she pressed even harder. She brought her hands up defensively and tried to push away, but she wouldn't let her, her grip on her lekkus was too strong. She felt her move her lips slightly and she forced herself to calm down. Wasn't the first kiss supposed to be with somebody that you loved? No, that was nothing more than a childish story, and she had only heard it once, it was stupid to think of that. So what if it was her first kiss? There would be many others right? This one did not really matter right? Aspyre only did it to calm her down right? Aspyre did not… love her right?

00

Aspyre let her go and she felt the alien girl pulling away from her. They were both blushing brightly, but at least now Aspyre had a chance to speak.

"Mission, I help people because there are so many wrongs being done every day, every single second, in every planet of our galaxy. I have to help those people; I have to right as many wrongs as I can because I have no doubt that there is somebody who is hurting as many people as I am helping. As long as I keep this pace, there will be a balance and maybe someday, the scale will be tipped in my favor" she explained herself to the soundless girl. Mission remained unspoken and maintained her gaze on the floor. "There is no reason for you to feel guilty or jealous of me. Right now the person you have to help is yourself, back when I was 14 the person I had to help was I. You will get your chance to help people soon and I know that you will make the right decision when the time comes... Okay?" The girl nodded but still did not look at her. Aspyre lifted her chin as peered into her eyes. She embarrassedly smiled at her, hoping it would reassure her somewhat. Mission instead of being reassured told her something that made her feel even extra mortified.

"That was my first kiss" she spoke quietly. Aspyre felt the color drain from her face. She started sweating and tried to think of something to say, but only "Oh" came out of her mouth. Both girls looked at each other in discomfort for a while, thinking about what to tell the other. In the end Mission took a step closer and kissed Aspyre again. She did not want to kiss Mission, it might send her the wrong message, but then again, she found herself not pushing her back. Both girls remained connected at their lips for a while, until Mission parted and asked her a question that made Aspyre so nervous she almost vomited. "Will you do with me what you did with Bastila?"

Aspyre felt her stomach churn, her knees shake, her jaw open, her eyes widen and her heart rate increase. She tried to find the words, but none came. She could not say yes! What would Bastila think? She would hate her! But she couldn't say no, could she? She would hurt her feelings. She looked inside the girl's eyes and saw a mixture of excitement, embarrassment, hope, desire, curiosity and lust. She looked for a long time and settled for the most obvious thing, but one that would buy her time to think.

"You knew?"

The girl nodded and apologized with her eyes.

"I saw you two one night, I woke up and saw you doing something, I was gonna ask you what it was, but then I saw you were both naked and I placed two and two together. I… you sounded like you were enjoying it very much. I… want to feel that too. Please?"

Aspyre was silent for a moment, thinking and racking her brain at light speed in order to come with a satisfactory answer for the girl.

"Mission… we, we can't" she said as kindly as she could. She saw the hope and the excitement disappear from her eyes. The girl turned even deeper purple and turned away from her. She hugged herself, doing her best to hide her pain from her. She opened her mouth to speak, but in that moment Bastila walked inside the room, having sensed her discomfort through their bond. She stared at Aspyre with a mixture of indignation, confusion and empathy, while Aspyre shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

_"She knows."_

Bastila turned to face Mission and eyed her carefully, as if deciding her next move. Mission turned her teary eyes to Bastila and her face softened. The three girls stayed where they were, trying to address the Rancor in the room, but neither being able to do it.

"I… I'm sorry, just forget what I said" Mission said as she walked away from them. Bastila grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her. She hugged her tightly and looked over at Aspyre, how walked forward and hugged the pair. They remained where they were, waiting for the inevitable breaking of the dam. For a few minutes they heard nothing except Mission's slow deep breathing, and then, they heard it. The tiny sob coming from the blue girl sandwiched between them. Mission pressed against Bastila and felt as all her resentment was released, as all her insecurities discarded and as her own pain was thrown away. It felt great. It was pleasant. This is what she needed, exactly what she needed.

00

Dantooine was truly the same as they left. Jedi where walking towards and from the library. Merchants were setting up their shops and the occasional settler was walking inside the Enclave, seeking an audience with the Jedi Council. Aspyre and Bastila went to speak to the Enclave to brief the council on recent events. It was best if they kept them informed about the situation and there was a very important matter that needed solving, and both of them had decided that the council needed to know… well Aspyre had decided the council needed to know and Bastila had tetchily agreed.

"Padawan Bastila, Padawan Venar, it is good to see you both unharmed" master Dorak greeted them.

"How is the search for the star forge?" master Vaandar inquired.

"It is well masters; we have already found another star map on Tatooine" Bastila told them. Zhar, Dorak and Vaandar smiled and Vrook nodded. "There is however, a development. We encountered a bounty hunter in Tatooine. We strongly believe that he was working for Malak. I fear he might already know of our plan."

The masters were silent as Bastila spoke, and their faces turned grim.

"It is not unexpected, but rather unfortunate" Zhar spoke.

"We must assume that Malak is aware of our strategy. We have to proceed even more cautiously now, one false step and all hope will be lost. It would be for the best if you stayed here for the time being and honed your training, at least for a few weeks, you will need to be fully prepared should you encounter more of Malak's followers" Vrook told them. The Padawans nodded and Bastila turned to leave, but Aspyre held her place.

"You have something else to say, Padawan?"

_"Please don't."_

_ "I have to."_

Aspyre removed her mask and looked at the four masters in turn. She chose her words carefully and taking a deep breath she spoke.

"Masters, something else has happened. A… situation has occurred" she said slowly but firmly. Behind her Bastila did not turn around, but she felt her stiffen and she had to close her side of the bond in order to stop all the pleading and begging that she was sending to her. "It is something that requires your attention. Bastila and I have debated about this, although our opinions are divided, I feel that I have to speak."

The masters turned to look at Bastila's figure and she had to do her best not to run away. She was biting her lip and wishing that she was back at the Hawk.

"What is this event you refer to, Padawan?" Dorak questioned her. Aspyre turned around and grabbed Bastila's hand and pulled her towards them. She hesitated for a long time and after bracing herself she opened her side of the bond and allowed all of her emotions towards Bastila to flow across the room. Bastila and Aspyre stared at the ground as their heart rates increased, waiting for some sort of reaction from their masters. After a long minute of silence, Aspyre looked up and saw the four masters staring at them in confusion and worry.

"Padawan Venar, please… leave us" Zhar told her. Aspyre nodded and shakily made her way to the outside of the room. She sat by the door and waited for them to call her back as she silently hoped that they would not punish Bastila because of their behavior. After all they had not fallen to the dark side. They had not even faltered from the path of the light. They were fine! Truly they would see that... right?

She grabbed her hair and started twirling it around with her finger, clockwise, counter-clockwise, very fast, very slow, in large circles and in small circles.

_"Aspyre, please come inside."_

She got up and quickly opened the door, hurrying back next to Bastila. The four masters were very, very angry and Bastila had a look of shame and guilt in her face. Aspyre looked at the five of them and surprisingly their faces softened a little bit when they looked at her, not by much, though.

"Padawan Venar, why have you chosen to disobey our code?" Vaandar asked her. Aspyre stuttered and thought of several excuses, but found none of them satisfactory.

"I love her" was all she could mouth. Bastila's eyes watered at her response and she turned back to the masters.

"I love her too masters… I… I really do."

Vaandar gripped his walking stick even harder, Zhar sighed and shook his head, Vrook crossed his arms and snorted, while Dorak remained neutral. Both Aspyre and Bastila mentally held hands and waited for a response, but none came.

"Masters, we have never felt stronger and more in tune with the Force. We have never been more fortified and resolved to fulfill our duty. Please understand, we have not succumbed to passion, we have succumbed to love. There is no wild untamed passion between us, there is love, and the love we share makes us stronger, makes us determined and it makes our lives beautiful. If you feel that this will jeopardize our mission, then I will not protest to you removing us from it" Aspyre said, she thought it would be best to just shut up, but the silence made her feel awkward and she went on and on about what their felt and their strength and their resolve and their mission until she felt Bastila telling her to shut up through their bond.

"Padawans, the consequences of your actions will have repercussions" Dorak told them in a neutral tone. "If Malak discovers this he could use it to his advantage, anybody could. You have brought a lot of danger to yourselves. It would be best if you stayed here and meditated, in order to cleanse yourself from this impurity."

Aspyre's jaw opened in indignation. Cleanse? Impurity?

"Cleanse? There is nothing to cleanse. masters! There is nothing wrong with us! Please don't say thing like that, it really hurts me that you think that. I promised you that we will see this through, that we will fulfill the duty you gave us and that we would stay true to the light side. And we will."

Bastila was deep in thought, hating herself for what she had done. Hating herself for allowing herself to fall in love with this woman. Hating herself for allowing herself to become attached, even though she knew the risks, even though she knew the truth! But what could she do now? She loved her. Oh, how she loved her. She loved her more than she loved herself, she would gladly die for her. She would gladly… kill for her. If anybody threatened her she would kill them, with no hesitation. She thought of why could the council not see it? True if she had not experienced it she probably could not see it. Hell, she had been preaching Aspyre about attachment for a long time before she had fallen for her. But the council had felt it, Aspyre had filled the chamber with their feelings, they must have felt it.

"You must continue your mission, there is too much at stake, but you must be forever vigilant, one slip, one careless mistake is all that it will take for you to fall to the dark side" Vrook angrily told them. They both hastily nodded and bowed to them. Vaandar dismissed them with a wave of his hand and they both hastily took off. They sat down on the grass outside the enclave in silence, speaking through their bond.

_"We got off easy don't you think?" _she asked Bastila.

_"The punishment does not worry me, but what master Dorak said does."_

_ "Me too… But we are strong, Bastila, we will not fall and I will never let anybody hurt you, I swear."_

_ "I won't let anybody hurt you either."_

_ "I know."_

The girls were silent and watched the sun rise from the horizon, covering them with its warmth and light. Both girls were pondering their current situation. They had a very important mission ahead of them, they needed to find the Star Forge, stop Malak and defend the galaxy from the Sith. Would they have time for themselves? Would they be able to find peace in such a tremendous conflict?

_"It seems unlikely"_ Bastila said.

_"Yeah, but at the time, most ideas seem unlikely. I never thought I would be able to leave Deralia, and look where I am now."_

Aspyre stood up and gestured Bastila to follow her. Both girls went to the storage and picked up parts for their lightsabers, master Vaandar had given them authorization to pick the best pieces and Aspyre took no expense to grab the firmest handles and the best lens emitters. Bastila did the same and both girls started working on their lightsabers. Aspyre took hers apart completely as the second hole she had crudely cut was starting to come apart. She replaced her handle with a new double bladed handle, which was much wider and allowed for more maneuverability when fighting. It was about four hours until the girls finished with their swords. They ignited them and a snap-hiss filled their ears, Aspyre's blue blade and Bastila's yellow blade filled the room with bright light. Satisfied with their work, the girls went back to Hawk. Aspyre saw Canderous standing in the entrance, a grim look on his face.

"Hey you, what are you up to?"

"_We _are going to go fill that promise to that farmer, remember?" he asked with an annoyed look. Aspyre gasped, she had totally forgotten about that! Oh that man was going to be very mad! How long had they been gone, a week and a half? It wasn't that bad; if they hurried they could get the Mandalorians and go put the man's mind at ease.

"Oh Canderous, I totally forgot! We should go right away!"

Bastila declined to join them and went back to the Ebon Hawk. Aspyre called Big Z and Mission and the four of them went back to the plains.

They did not encounter much Kath Hounds, it seemed like they stayed in their territories now. Ever since Juhani was no longer there they were no longer aggressive. Aspyre winced at the memory, but kept going, what was done was done, and the best way to make up for failing with Juhani was to be the best Jedi she could, mourning needlessly about the past was not the way. The party kept walking deeper and deeper into the plains, finding no trace of them. They went south until they came across a few hounds which they dispatched easily. They had spent three hours walking around when they saw them. They were standing in a corner, a large plateau behind them providing them with cover from any attack coming from behind. There were five of them. There were two Duros, a Rodian and two men wearing full Mandalorian armor.

"Defectors" Canderous spat out. Zaalbar unsheathed his swords and stepped next to Aspyre, Mission ran to their back and laid down on a hill, taking aim at one of the Duros, Canderous shouldered his rifle and pulled out his knife. He walked straight to the Mandalorian in the center and yelled at him in their native language.

The Mandalorian did not react kindly to whatever Canderous had told him and he pulled out his vibroblade. Aspyre ignited her lightsaber on both ends and before the Duros could bring up his rifle, she jumped forward and ripped it half, she immediately jumped to the Rodian, cut of his right hand and Force pushed him against the rock wall. She turned around and saw Canderous fighting with the Mandalorian while Zaalbar took care of the Duros she had disarmed, who had pulled out a vibroblade and the other Mandalorian; she felt sorry for the pair and turned to see how Mission blasted once at the head of the other Duros, killing him instantly. She watched how Zaalbar removed the head of the Mandalorian and sliced at the stomach of the Duros, opening a wound so big he split him in two. Canderous stabbed the Mandalorian in the leg, forcing him down on his knees. As he rose his arms in defeat he ripped the sword from his hands and with a swift spin he impaled him straight through the face. His hands trembled a few times, desperately trying to do something, anything, but the blood loss and the brain damage were too much, he went limp and as soon as Canderous removed the sword he fell face-first on the ground.

Canderous took off the destroyed helmet and pulled out his knife. He looked at Aspyre with an indifferent face and the four of them took off.

00

It was night by the time they had arrived at the Enclave. Mission and Zaalbar went straight back to the Ebon Hawk, but Aspyre and Canderous went to the record department to find out the farmer's name and where he lived. His name was Ryn Vicler and he lived only a few hours from the Enclave. They went outside and found that the speeder were stored for the night. Suppressing a sigh, Aspyre grabbed Canderous' hand and using Force speed, began running towards where the farmer's house was. They were advancing at nearly the same speed as a regular speeder and after a few minutes, they found themselves in front of the farm. It was very big, many types of fruits and vegetables were growing there and the field seemed to go as far as they could see. In direct contrast to the large area, the house in the entrance was rather small, it probably could have housed about two or three people at the most. Aspyre pressed the call button on the gate and a distraught man opened the door. He recognized them right away, his expression changing from surprise to tiredness as he invited them in.

"No mister Vicler, we just want to give you something" Aspyre kindly refused. Without a word and before Ryn could respond, Canderous pulled the helmet and forced into his hands. The man had a look of pleasant surprise on his face and he nodded to both of them.

"Are they all dead?"

"Yes, though I hardly find it reason to celebrate" Aspyre dryly told him. The man looked and snorted at her. Shaking his head and muttering that she would not understand, he took five one hundred credit chips and handed them to her, but she held out her hand and shook her finger.

"I insist."

"No sir, I cannot take your money, I did not go to kill those Mandalorians, I went to try and get them to see reason and turn themselves in for their crimes. They gave me no choice" she told him firmly and after bidding him good night she grabbed Canderous' hand again and took off, quieting the tiny voice calling her a liar.


	17. Arrogant Little Bitch

Chapter 17

It was pouring by the time they got back to the Enclave. Canderous' was fine with his body armor, but Aspyre's robes where clinging to her and her hair was completely drenched. She was going to get sick in the morning. They ran to the Ebon Hawk, saying their goodnights as they parted ways in the main room. She tiredly opened the door to the fresher and spent the next hour or so drying her hair. She grabbed a comb and brushed it, taking special care at the tips, she would brush them even softer, terrified of breaking any of them. She took off her wet clothes, leaving them in a pile on one of the corners of the fresher and went to her quarters, not fearing anybody seeing her, they were all asleep already.

She found Mission sleeping on her bunk bed and Bastila resting on hers. She sat down next to her, hoping she wouldn't wake her up. She was silent for a few seconds, unable to do anything else as her mind was bombarded with questions. She hated when this happened to her, she over thought things and she made everything much more complicated than what it really was. Why was she fighting? Why was she doing her best to defeat Malak and stop the Sith threat? Because they are going to threaten the galaxy, they would rule with an iron fist and countless innocent would die, it was obvious. She tried to stop thinking and leave it at that, but trying not to think about something seemed to have the opposite effect and the voice became stronger.

_"But why do you care?" _the distressed, perplexed and irritated voice rang inside her head.

_"Because everybody deserves a chance to live, nobody should have their freedom taken away because of somebody's greed, or their lives."_

_ "But why is it your job to fix it?"_

_ "If I don't, who will?"_

_ "Nobody, but you could leave, you could go to a planet that the Sith would never be interested in, a planet were you could live in peace."_

_ "But all those people…"_

_ "Who cares about them? What have they ever done for you? What has the galaxy ever done for YOU?"_

_ "I care about them… I…"_

_ "NOTHING! The galaxy has never helped you, why should you help them? When your parents died nobody came to comfort you, nobody picked you up from the street and taught you how to survive! You learned all of that yourself! What difference does it makes if the galaxy dies? Nobody cares about you!"_

_ "Please… be silent… I can't…"_

_ "Do you think it matters if a few planets are erased for existence? If a few billion people die? Do you think it really matters? What would be the impact if Dantooine was reduced to nothing more than rubble floating in the vacuum of space? Nothing would change! Why should you care about such trivial things?"_

_ "I have to! I have to! I have to! I don't know why, please I have to!"_

_ "You don't have to do anything! Let them die, leave while you still can. Let them die, they mean nothing to you. You just need Bastila, take her with you and leave the galaxy to perish. After all, it makes no difference if they exist or not does it?"_

_ "Of course it does!"_

_ "Why?"_

_ "Why?" _she repeated, more than just slightly confused.

_ "Yes, why do they exist? Why does it matter if they exist or not?"_

_ "Maybe... I… maybe we exist to find out why we exist."_

_ "Wrong! You have no answer to that question. Nobody has the answer. What if you exist only to find pleasure, only to serve yourself? By helping others and taking this important mission you would be denying the reason of your existence."_

_ "No… no, no, that is not true!"_

_ "And what do you base yourself in?"_

_ "In… I… I don't know…"_

_ "You. Don't. Know. You don't know, Aspyre. You just blindly follow what your masters tell you. You seduced yourself with the illusion of justice and peace and power, but now that you have faced the harsh reality, what will you do? You can't change anything, you know that. You don't know if your actions will have any effect. You don't' know if defeating Malak will stop anything. You don't know how to stop all the crime syndicates, all the slave traders, all the spice dealers, all the petty thieves, all the savage murderers, all the kidnappers and lustful rapists. You. Don't Know. Give up. Give up Aspyre! You! Don't! Know!"_

00

Aspyre cowered in a corner, shaking her head desperately; trying to get the terrifying, yet seducing voice out of her head as tears flowed from her eyes like a levee had just burst open. But it persisted, it reminded her of the day her parents were burnt to death inside their ship, it reminded her of all the times she asked for help in the streets of Deralia, desperate to find something to eat, and nobody even turned their head to look at her, it reminded her of the impossibility of saving everybody and it reminded her of the futility of life, of the unpredictability of existence, and of the worthlessness of fighting for life. It talked and talked at her, its voice getting louder and louder, until it was a scream that was filling her ears. She shut her eyes and clamped her ears, but it still came. She gritted her teeth and pulled at her hair, trying to endure the onslaught of qualms, doubts, fears and insecurities beating her down. She felt as the pressure built up and it kept pressing hard on her chest, not letting her breathe. She could not think, she could not respire, and she could not articulate. The pressure was too much, it would murder her, it would break her ribs and crush her lungs. It would force her against the ground and turn her into dust. Dust that would travel through space, landing on countless planets, scratching against the ground, crashing against the hard rocks and the cold corpses, and being stepped on by people completely unaware of the existence of said dust, making absolutely no impact on life or the galaxy. No impact whatsoever.

And then, in less than a second, the pressure eased and the voice disappeared. She kept her eyes shut, hoping it went away from sure. After a few more minutes she opened them and found herself standing in the middle of a white room. A white, empty room, with no windows, no chairs, no tables, and nobody in it. She headed to the only door but it was locked. She turned around, a new anxiety rising within her. She had to get out; she had to find a way out. She checked the walls, the floor, the ceiling, every corner and every crack the room had, but there was nothing. She was sealed. She was trapped. There was no way out of that room. But what was that room? Why was she here? Why did it bother her so much being here? She had to get out. She couldn't stand it there, she was going to go insane, she had to get out.

She sat down on the ground and waited as patiently as she could. Somebody would come for her… Somebody had to, right? They would not just leave her here to die, right? Bastila would come for her, right? Mission, Carth, Zaalbar and Canderous, they would not just leave her in that room, right? Hell, at least T3 or HK had to come rescue her; it was in their programming, right?

_"You think?" _the familiar voice told her. She opened her eyes in fear and trepidation, desperately looking for whoever was talking to her.

"Where are you?" she screamed at the walls, but no reply came. "WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?"

Only silence came back to her. It was heavy; it weighted her down, caused her to crumple on the ground again. It was deafening, she could feel nothing but the silence creeping on her. She tried to look at her hands but the room was too white. She could not see anything. She tried moving her hands to feel the walls, to steady herself, but she felt nothing. Only air passed through her fingers. She desperately thrashed around, searching for anything, anything that could help her. But there was nothing, only the blinding white and steady silence that burned her like fire. Suddenly a mirror appeared in front of her. No… it wasn't a mirror, it was her. It was… her.

The other Aspyre smiled evilly at her. She crossed her arms and three more Aspyres walked next to her. She closed her eyes, but she still saw them. Now there where ten, twenty, fifty. They looked at her much like a predator looks at the wounded prey, ready to be devoured. And they spoke at the same time.

_"You know what you have to do Aspyre. If you keep this up, you will die trying to fix all the wrongs in the galaxy. Nothing will ever change. And even if it did, what good would it do? You will die and with time people will forget your name, your actions. Nobody will ever remember you" _the frightening chorus almost sang to her in a bloodcurdling voice that both sent chills down her spine and somehow comforted her to some degree. She wanted to hear them talk again, but not really. She was scared of them, but she wanted them to come closer.

_ "No… My family will, my friends will!"_

_ "No. Your friends will die too, Bastila will die too. And you have no family, don't lie to us little girl. And even if they did not, what is the point? Why does it matter if people remember you? Why does it matter if things change or stay the same? Why does it matter if people live or die?"_

_ "It matters because… because it is our right to live, to exist. It's our right… right?"_

_ "Your right? You arrogant little bitch! You have no rights! Nobody has rights! There is only what you can take and what you allow people to take from you! You have seen this! If you let people walk over you they will! And yet you foolishly keep helping them!" _the Aspyres boomed loudly, hurting her ears, making her tremble. They advanced towards her and circled her, causing her to cower even more in fear. She curled up in a ball and hid her face on her knees, and weakly muttered to them.

_"No… we can live peacefully, in harmony. I… I will show you! Just let me show you please! Please don't hurt me!"_

_ "And how will you do that? You can't even fix something as tiny as Mission's family problems, how are you going to fix the galaxy? You could not even stop Trask from sacrificing himself for you in the Spire! You could not stop Malak from firing down on Taris and killing everybody down there! You couldn't stop him from killing that sweet young girl! You could not even find that pathetic woman's droid! You can't even finish your job without breaking down like a frightened baby, you are nothing but a failure Aspyre, you know it, you just have not accepted it."_

_ "No! Please! Stop… I'm sorry, I tried! I tried to help them! But it's hard, please let me try again! I can help more people, please, please, please! Please forgive me! I can do better, I'm sorry, please let me try again!"_

_ "Why should we? You have proven time and again how weak you are. How have proven how you are not up to this task. Look at you, how can you finish this when you have an existentialist crisis every time you have some free time?"_

_ "I… I will do it... I have help... I have Bastila, I have Canderous, I have Carth, I have HK, I have T3, I have Zaalbar, I have Mission. I have all I need" _she replied shakily, but with increasing resolve while removing her head from her hiding place and standing up. The Aspyres took a step back and seemed confused at her, and she continued. _"I have all I need… I am not weak… I am not a failure… I am NOT a failure! I will show you! I will show ALL OF YOU!"_

00

Aspyre felt a hand shaking her and sharply opened her eyes, furiously hyperventilating, sweating and shaking like she had been electrocuted. The concerned faces of Bastila Shan and Mission Vao greeted her. She nervously looked around. She was in the Ebon Hawk, she was safe. She turned her attention back to them and she hugged them, doing her best to keep her grip on reality, doing her best not to go back to that white room when she saw the corners of her field of vision turning white again. She wrapped one arm on each of their heads and pulled them as close to her as she could. She had them. She had everything she needed. Life was not futile, it was not pointless. It wasn't, it couldn't be… she silently held on to the girls, trying to erase the memory from her brain. She hated that voice. She hated it because it spoke with such conviction, it sounded so right. But it could not be right, it had to be wrong, the voice was wrong, and she would prove it wrong. She would prove it wrong if it killed her. Bastila and Mission pulled her up and led the girl back to her bed, and Bastila told Mission to go back to her bed. She lay down next to her and she had not finished pulling the bed sheets to cover them when Aspyre had hugged her like her life depended on it. Bastila nervously hugged her back and recalled the words she had yelled before they woke her up.

00

_"I am not weak… I am not a failure… I am NOT a failure! I will show you! I will show ALL OF YOU!"_ she had yelled with all her might before Bastila woke her.

Bastila silently pondered in fear and concern. She had never head Aspyre so angry and so afraid before. But who was she talking to? What had just happened? Bastila keep thinking and remembering her face, her position, her words, but nothing made sense. She sighed and resigned for the time being. She would ask her tomorrow. She turned her gaze to Aspyre's face, and softly stroked her it. She shuddered at the touch and her eyes shot open, absolutely terrified at something, but relaxed when her brain caught up with what was going on. Taking a deep breath, Bastila saw her close her eyelids and try to open them again, but she failed and she fell asleep.

00

_Revan hacked and slashed, making her way through the Mandalorian crowd, there were maybe sixty, seventy of them. She kept pushing them back and forcing them to follow her, she had to lead them away from the medical facilities, she could not allow them to attack it. She parried and dodged, she jumped and ducked, she slashed and flipped, always dragging the Mandalorian mob with her. Soon they were far enough. She could fight freely here. Using the Force to boost her legs, she jumped forward and landed in front of the crowd. She saw the first line in front of her unsheathe their vibroblades and charge at her. She gritted her teeth and focused, this was going to drain her, badly. If she did not get it right on the first try, they would kill her. She pushed her left hand forward and sent them flying backwards; she kept concentrating on the whole mob and sent them flying through the forest, crashing against trees and rocks, until she finally pinned them against the mountain. Using all of her might she held them in place and used her right hand to send another wave towards them. She saw the wave crash through trees, boulders and fallen logs, sending them all flying towards the now panicked crowd. She felt time slow down and she saw as the entire mass of debris flew towards them and crashed against the front row, crushing bones, breaking teeth and severing body parts. She pushed even stronger and it crushed them into a pulp against the mountain wall. There could be no survivors, she was likely going to pass out after this, she had to make sure there was nobody left to kill her. Making a monumental and inhuman effort she focused one last time and with a huge scream, she sent a monstrous wave against the mountain. The rock wall finally gave and the mountain began collapsing on itself, crushing the few remaining Mandalorians and burying them under a few tons of rock and dirt. The ground screamed in pain as tons of rock fell down on the earth, killing everything under it and burying it forever. She saw as the dust began to settle and she collapsed in the ground, completely fatigued. She saw Alek running towards her in the distance, running from an even larger group. There was no escape from here, there were so many of them, and she could no longer fight. They were going to butcher them. Alek would not be able to hold out against all of them, he was an excellent fighter, but they would overrun him on sheer numbers. She tried to move, but her body was completely numb. She saw how he threw his lightsaber at them and kept running towards her, but she did not see it come back to him. Maybe it was because he was still controlling it, cutting through the mob, or maybe it was because the blackness in her eyes had completely taken over._

_ "I tried" she whispered so softly she barely heard herself. A faint image flashed through her head. Her mother was smiling at her. Her father was smiling at her. She smiled at them. They were proud of her, she did her best. Maybe it wasn't enough, but now maybe there was hope for the galaxy. Maybe now Deralia could be peaceful once again. The thought was enough to make her pass out in peace. Whatever happened now… she had tried._

00

Aspyre opened her eyes lazily. Stretching her arms and yawning, she realized she was alone. She lazily and very slowly dressed and made her way to the main room. She saw Canderous, Zaalbar and Mission on the table eating. Mission immediately looked up in worry at her, but with a tired smile she reassured her.

"We heard you scream last night. I went to check on you, but Mission said you were fine. Are you?" Zaalbar roared. Aspyre nodded and thanked him for his concern. He simply roared and kept eating. Mission placed a hand on her thigh and reassuringly stroked it.

"We're going to Korriban" Canderous said between bites. Aspyre simply nodded and for a second wondered who had made the choice. Probably Carth, or Bastila, Canderous really did not care where they went and now that she thought about it, neither did Zaalbar or Mission. She stood up and went to the cockpit.

"Hey, look who's up! What was that last night? You had us worried" Carth told her without looking up from his controls. Bastila had a nervous look on her face and silently asked her the same thing.

"I… I had a nightmare" she clumsily responded. Carth raised his eyebrows but said nothing. _"More like an existential crisis" _she added in her head. Bastila stood up and took her hand while leading her to the cargo hold. She looked at her for a few seconds and after organizing her thoughts she asked her.

"Aspyre, what is wrong? I know that something is bothering you deeply and I know that was not a nightmare" Bastila inquired with her arms crossed.

"Nothing, it's just that…" she replied, and at the urge given by Bastila's raised eyebrows she continued. "I'm not sure if I can do it."

"… Do what?"

"This, the mission. I feel, like the pressure is getting to me. I feel overwhelmed and I feel like I need a break, but I can't take a break because the longer it takes us to find the Star Forge, the more people are going to suffer or die because of Malak! I want to crawl into a hole and hide but I can't because it would be neglecting my duty! I don't want to kill people, but I have to because if I don't they will kill innocent people!"

Bastila was silent while Aspyre explained her frustrations to her. She allowed the girl to calm down a bit before talking.

"Aspyre, I know it is very hard. But we do not have a choice. We have been given great power, and we must make sure that we do not waste our talents or misuse them. If we don't help make this galaxy a better world then nobody will" she told the not entirely convinced girl. Aspyre merely shrugged and nodded, rubbing her temples. Bastila tried to find more words of encouragement for her, but she found out she had none, so she walked over to her and hugged her. "When this is over, we are going to be able to live together, happily. Forever, my love" she whispered in her ear, slowly licking it and softly biting it. Aspyre shuddered and trembled in pleasure and with a smile on her face nodded to Bastila, slightly more resolved now. Bastila smiled and nodded at her and they both left the cargo hold. Bastila went to the cockpit and Aspyre went over to Canderous.

"Hey, listen I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sparring with me?"

Canderous thought for a moment before asking her if they were going to use vibroblades. She nodded and he got up and they went to the cargo hold.

"No Force" he told her, assuming a standard Mandalorian defensive position.

She did her best to look offended, but it must have not come out quite believable, because Canderous laughed at her.

Canderous lifted his arms and held the sword above his head, the blade resting on his back, waiting for her to attack. Aspyre measured him carefully, he was probably gonna fight in a more textbook based manner instead of his usual mixing of styles and movements. She took a step forward and performed a very nice uppercut, cutting through his defenses, or rather; she would have if he had stayed in the same place. He moved slightly to the right and using his entire body for momentum, he brought down his blade on her, she managed to move hers and block the blow, but the strength of it sent shocks throughout her entire body. She staggered back and managed to block his next attack, a swift downward cross slash that almost took a part of her hair. She silently cursed at herself for not reminding him to be careful with her hair, thought she doubted he would have listened.

00

Aspyre and Canderous sat side by side on the cargo hold, both of them breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. They had practiced for about two hours and they would have gone for further, but Mission had butted in and interrupted them. Aspyre was really tired, more than she had been in a while, really. She cast a sideways look at Canderous, hoping he wouldn't notice. He had his eyes closed, his rapid breathing was slowly decreasing back to its usual pace, and his hands were still gripping the blade, though not as hard. He opened his eyes and smiled at her, a rather unusual feat for him.

"You're getting better" he commended her.

"Thank you, so are you" she clumsily replied, totally unprepared for that. The second it was out of her mouth she kicked herself. What the hell had that been? He wasn't getting better; he had been taking it easy on her. Stupid, stupid girl. Seriously, without the Force, she was nothing compared to him, he could have very, very easily beaten her. But there was no shame on that, everybody had a weak point, for Aspyre it was her lightsaber skills. But when it came to control and power over the Force? There was nobody that could match her.

Canderous ignored her stupid remark and got up. He opened the door, looking once over his shoulder and smiling approvingly at her. Aspyre felt butterflies rising in her stomach at the sight and did her best to keep her face straight.

00

From the Ebon Hawk's cockpit, Korriban looked pretty much like Tatooine; there was a lot of dessert and only tiny specks of green and blue. But there was one major difference. There was a huge patch of grey where they were landing, the Sith Academy. Carth shuddered at the thought of his son being there. He had refused to believe his friend, but if it was true… Well he had to find out for sure. He skillfully landed in their pad and went to the Main Room.

"I think it would be best if Bastila stayed on the ship, seeing as her face might be recognized" he heard Aspyre say as he walked near the table.

"As much as I dislike it, Aspyre is right, for the sake of the mission, it would be best if I stayed here."

There was an anonymous nodding and Aspyre proceeded to think who she would take with her. She definitely wanted Canderous with her, and Zaalbar could prove useful if they had to fight their way out.

"I think-"

"I'm going" Carth interrupted her. They all looked at him in surprise, but Aspyre nodded.

"Zaalbar, I want you and HK to come with me as well."

The droid stated his joy at the possibility of killing more meatbags and Zaalbar roared an affirmative. The four of them headed down the ramp, wasting no time, as they all wished to get off this planet as soon as possible. They headed down the main ramp and after speaking with the dock officers, they found out that the Ebon Hawk used to come to Korriban regularly. Not a pleasant fact, but at least they did not have to pay the docking fee.

They were walking down the main, and only, hallway in the base when they were stopped by three young cocky looking Sith.

"You! What are you doing wearing that mask?" a blonde girl asked her with a smirk on her face.

"Me? It's my mask, I built it."

"Well, I like it very much, so just hand it over, will you?"

Aspyre cocked her head in confusion. Surely she wasn't simply telling her to hand over her mask, was she? There was no way in hell Aspyre was parting with her mask she thought, and her hand dropped instinctively to her lightsaber. The blonde girl's eyes widened in surprise at the revelation, but she simply moved her hand as well and placed it on top of her own lightsaber.

"Ah, a fallen Jedi. I hate them; always so cocky and thinking they are superior to us."

"Threat: Please continue the current building of tension, I am most eager to put a blaster hole through your eyes, meatbag" HK joyfully stated.

Aspyre sighed in defeat; this was not going to be a pleasant planet…

00

It had been two days since she had been admitted into the Sith Academy. She had so far exceeded all expectations, and her teachers were very impressed with her skills. She had ventured into the tomb of Tulak Hord, killed a bunch of renegade students, she had killed off most of her competition and had turned in a Sith student that was having second thoughts, she had fought and killed most of the Republic prisoners they had in the academy, she had tortured a Mandalorian to death until he told her the information she wanted. She no longer had any competitors left. The problem was, she could not remember any of those things. She remembered going to sleep in her room, with Carth and Zaalbar sleeping in the floor, against her wishes. She remembered waking up and having breakfast and getting ready for the day, but after that… She could not remember, she tried to remember, did she really do all those things? Did she kill those students that had defected because they had a conscience? Had she killed all of the other Sith? Why could she not remember? She tried very hard to recall the events of the day, but try as she might, she could not and she had to ask HK for recordings of what she had done.

HK stated he had never so proud to serve a master as bloodthirsty as her, and proceeded to show her recordings of her slaughtering Sith, killing the students, and torturing prisoners to death. Aspyre felt her reality crack and she threw up in the floor of the academy, disgusted at her actions, repulsed at her very existence and wishing she had never seen those recordings, wishing that Korriban would split open and swallow her. It had taken her a full day to recover control and even now, she was not completely back in shape. She felt tired, sad, guilty, disgusted, embarrassed and so sorry, she felt so very sorry. She did her best to maintain control of herself and consciously thinking every action before she did it, went to the eating room for breakfast. Her mind was literally filled with thoughts like right leg, left leg, right leg, left leg; don't move your arms so much! Sit down, pick up the fork, and start eating. She was terrified of losing control again, of what she would do. Thankfully Carth and Zaalbar had had their hands busy with working around the academy, they had hated it of course, but it was the only way they would let them stay there, what with their slave cover and all. With very little to do, she simply recited the Sith code to master Uthar, strangely enough, she had no memory of actually reading it anywhere. She simply said it. She had tried to have lunch, but the memories of her actions, or rather, the recordings HK had of her, made her throw up again. She felt so drained she simply went back to her room, finding Carth sitting in her bed. She greeted him and sat next to him.

"Hey" she said weakly. She had not told him of what she had done and there was no way in Hell she was going to tell him. Carth would probably get scared of her, or he might think she is the enemy and shoot her.

"Hey."

"What's eating you?"

"… I didn't tell you the reason why I decided to come with you, didn't I?" He asked her with a hesitant look on his eyes. She thought back, and finding no memory of that and silently hoping she had not forgotten it, shook her head. He took a deep breath and continued. "You remember my son? I recently met an old friend, in Dantooine. He told me… he said he had see Dustil here" he said. Aspyre felt her jaw drop open in amazement, but before she could say anything he continued. "He told me joined the Sith."

"Wh-what? Wait, what?" she asked with a horrified look.

Carth nodded sadly and closed his eyes. Aspyre was at a loss for words, his son, his long lost son, he was alive! But how could he have joined the Sith? They had bombed Telos! They must have lied to him. It was the only reasonable explanation.

"Have you seen him?" she asked him. Carth gave her a "really?" look and shook his head. "Well, maybe we can go find him, surely if he sees you he will come back to you right? He probably misses you as much as you miss him!"

Carth hopefully nodded and they both stood up, he had looked for Dustil in the kitchen area, outside the academy, in the training ground, everywhere he would not raise too much suspicion, he was supposed to be Aspyre's slave after all. But with her, they could check the rooms, and he was bound to be there.

They silently walked through the hallways, checking doors and reading the life signatures of those that were inside. Aspyre found none that felt similar to Carth's so they kept walking. They had walked for about half an hour in circles, checking the same rooms, hoping he had come back, when Aspyre ran headfirst into a boy, just slightly taller than her. She hit him in the chin with her forehead and they both fell to the ground. The boy rubbed his chin in pain, as Aspyre was rubbing her forehead. She looked at him, his Sith uniform impeccable, not a single fold or drop of blood on it. His brown short hair was messy, but not badly combed, it was just his natural look. His cream colored eyes were filled with surprise as he looked at her. He stood up and offered her his hand, something really uncommon, if not unheard of, for a Sith. She gingerly took it and he raised her quickly.

"You take a wrong turn somewhere?" he jokingly asked her. She was about to reply when she felt Carth coming up behind her. She turned to face him and she immediately saw something strange. She turned back to the boy and then to the pilot, then back to the boy, and back to the pilot, then once more to the boy, and she gasped in surprise. They boy followed her gaze and his eyes landed on his dumbstruck father. A tiny smile drew on Carth's face as he shakily took a step forward.

"Dustil?"

Contrary to what Aspyre had expected, the boy's smile faded and his face turned deadly serious.

"Oh, if it isn't father. What are you doing here? How did you manage to get past the guards?" Dustil asked in a tone that clearly stated he did not care in the least for the answer. Carth faltered for a second a thought about what to say, but Dustil did not let him gather his thoughts. "Couldn't you have gotten blown up in a spaceship and spare us this reunion?"

Aspyre felt her jaw drop yet again in surprise and shock. Not the reunion she had expected. She saw Carth as surprised as she was, trying to find the words to explain himself to him.

"Dustil… I thought you were dead! I never found any record of you in the survivors list! I looked for years for you! How… how can you say that?"

"What, did you really expect me to be glad to see you? Oh, look, its father, after so long, he has come back to safe me! Sure he left me and my mother to die on Telos, but that doesn't matter because he's here fifteen years later!" he said in a sarcastic voice.

"Dustil, I tried to go back as soon as I found out what was happening; I just didn't make it on time, you have to believe me! I didn't leave you!" Carth defended himself.

"Oh save it! You abandoned me and mother way before that! But it doesn't matter, I have a new family now, one that cares about me."

"The Sith? Dustil you can't be serious, they bombed Telos, they killed your mother, they took you away from me! The Sith are evil! They conquer worlds and do the same thing they did to our planet, please don't tell me you want to be part of that! The son I knew would never-"

"You never knew me! You weren't there to know me! So don't pretend to!"

"I don't know what they did to you but you are coming with me right now! We are leaving this planet!"

"Touch me and I will kill you old man!" Dustil replied with frown on his face, but his hand did not go to his lightsaber. Aspyre thought for a second and decided she had enough. Sith or no Sith, Dustil was Carth's son and she was dammed if she was going to let him speak to his father that way. Without even moving she placed Dustil in stasis from the neck down. He realized what she had done and tried to break free, but the gap in their strengths was too much. He did his best to resist her, but she was not even pretending to put an effort into it.

"Who are you? Let me go!"

"I am Republic Ensign Aspyre Venar and you will not speak to my commanding officer like that in my presence! He is your father and you will respect him! And is this all the power you have? It would be harder to freeze a Kath Hound than you" she snapped at him. Dustil and Carth where both visibly shocked at her reaction, both of them unsure of what to do. Dustil focused all his strength and attempted to break her hold on him, but there was no way he could do it. Aspyre was much too strong. Despite his best efforts, she had not even strained her face to keep him in place, hell, she could even place master Zhar on stasis, an achievement that she had only managed once at his own insistence, even though she had been reprimanded by Bastila and the rest of the council later. "The Sith are evil, Dustil. They bombed a planet called Taris only to kill Bastila. Countless of innocent people died there because of Malak's desire to kill her. I had to watch a little girl, a baby girl, be thrown to the depths of the planet by an explosion that demolished her house! They use their underlings until they no longer serve any purpose, and if you keep following their path, they will do the same to you!"

Dustil and Carth looked at her in shock, her mask concealing her anger, but her voice betraying it. But she wasn't mad at Dustil; at least she wasn't directing her anger at him. And he was really glad she wasn't, because, damn was she strong. He tried to process her words, but it didn't make sense. He had friends here, he knew that the Sith conquered world of course, they were going to be an empire, but now doubt filled his mind. He had seen master Uthar do some pretty sick stuff, but he always thought that it was simply his own twisted personality, not that the entire army was like that. They were brutal and cruel to their enemies, not between each other, not to him.

"Prove it! Bring me some proof that what you say is true and I'll think about it." He snarled, too stubborn to stop struggling. Aspyre looked at the shocked Carth and nodded at both them. She released Dustil from stasis and the young boy took a few deep breaths to regain his composure.

"We will! I swear I won't give up on you, I will be back soon!" Carth promised his son. The boy merely looked at him and shifted his gaze to the blonde girl wearing the Mandalorian mask. Aspyre looked back at him and noticed something in his eyes. A hint of respect, a tiny speck of it. The boy had seen just how powerful she really was and now there was at least the doubt that she might not be lying to him. After all, she had the power to kill him, and easily. The thought made him mentally shudder.

"I will keep quiet about your presence here for now, but if I hear that you are asking questions about me, or do anything to compromise my position here, I will tell master Uthar right away!" he said in a vain attempt to threaten them. Carth nodded sadly and Aspyre merely looked at him. He tried to find some sort of expression on her face, but only her bright blue eyes were visible behind her mask. The pair left right away, walking quickly through the corridors, Carth turning back to look at his son only once before they turned the corner.

"They changed him, they brainwashed him" Carth said sadly when they were back on their room. Aspyre sat on her bed, legs crossed and thinking deeply.

"We have to find some proof. Where could there be something like that in this academy?"

"The catacomb? Maybe the datapad of some old Sith lord?"

"Query: Are you looking for inspiration for your future slaughters master?" HK asked, emerging from a dark corner and freezing Aspyre's blood in the process. She turned around, terrified that he might spill her secret, and ordered him to stand by. HK complied and his glowing orange eyes shut off and he was silent.

"I don't think that will work. Even if we found something, we would say that it was ancient history and that they have changed and things like that" she responded, rubbing her temples as she begged all the deities in the galaxy that Carth was too preoccupied with his son to notice what HK had said. Her head was pounding; it had been for the last few days. It was this place. The energy around here, it was suffocating her, pounding on her body, trying to get inside her head, as if calling something evil inside of her, trying to get it out. She shuddered and focused on the task at hand, pushing her concerns to the back of her head. Carth was looking at her, wondering what she was thinking. They stayed still for a while, various scenarios and options running through their heads, but none was satisfactory.

"Uthar!" Aspyre exclaimed happily.

"Uthar?"

"Yes, he is the master of the academy, the strongest, meanest, and ugliest of all Sith here. He has to have something that proves he is evil!"

Carth thought for a moment and smiled. It was a good idea.

"Maybe he has some diary or log or something in his room! We can try to break in while he is not there and take it to Dustil!"

Aspyre nodded with a smile on her face.

"Ding, ding! Family reunion ordered! Extra love and hugs on the side!" she told his as she activated HK again. Carth laughed at her childish disposition, one, he recalled, he had not seen in a long, long time.

They trio made their way to Uthar's room as inconspicuously as possible. They did not want their cover to get blown and it would be disastrous if they could not get to Dustil back in time. They reached the heavy stone door that blocked the entrance to Uthar's room and casted a few looks around them, making sure that nobody was around. Aspyre motioned HK to open the door and the droid walked over to the control panel next to it. She spliced his finger in a kind of needle and started hacking. Aspyre silently wished that T3 was there with them. No offense to HK, but hacking simply wasn't his strong point, dismembering and torturing, that was his area of expertise. It took them about fifteen minutes for HK to get through the security. They entered the door and found the only real difference to other rooms was that this one was bigger. But the stone walls, the rough floor, the cold air and the stench of the Dark Side were all there. They started to search the room and found a few trophies, a green lightsaber, a bloodstained Jedi robe, a really fancy small blaster with the very tiny markings on one side. Turning it around, Aspyre saw that it started on the other side, it was very, very worn, but it was still readable, barely. "To my son, stay safe, stay calm, stay true. Mary Schmier." She put it down where it was and found a rotten finger had already rolled under it.

"Yuck!" Aspyre disgustedly said. "Smell's worse than the sewers in Taris."

Carth did not reply and kept furiously looking for a datapad, a book, anything that would get him his son back. He opened drawers, thrashed the contents inside and closed them again. He stood on top of the bed and reached over the stone closet. He found nothing and only scraped his hand against the spiky rock. Was everything in this damn place made of rock? After a few more minutes they gave up and asked HK to scan the area for any electrical signatures, something they should have done at the very beginning, Aspyre thought. After a few seconds he pointed to a crack on the wall, reached over to it and ripping it open, revealing a hidden compartment.

Aspyre gingerly placed her hand in it and grabbed the datapad inside of it. She started it up and ran a search program, searching for the words "Dustil" "Onasi" and "Death". Quite a few came up for the last one, but only three came for Dustil. The first one detailing how they found him and how strong he was in the Force, slightly above your average Jedi. The second dealt with his amazing progress the first years and how he had managed to surpass most of his fellow students. The third dealt with harsh critics to some girl that Dustil was friends with. Apparently she wasn't very good and because Dustil would stay back to help her, his progress had slowed down considerably in the months before it was written. It ended with a plan to kill her in order to get him to focus again on his training. It was extremely detailed, as if it were instructions on how to kill her properly so it looked like an accident.

Aspyre showed Carth the datapad and he grimly read it. He shook his head and they started placing everything back in place. They fixed the drawers, they replaced the piece of wall they had removed and they sealed the door again on the way out. Aspyre sent HK to stay in their room with Zaalbar, who was probably already there, and the pair went to Dustil's room. They found him fixing a few of his personal effects in his incredibly organized and clean room. He turned at the sound of his room being open and his hand darted to his lightsaber immediately, but it relaxed, just a bit, when he saw them.

"Back already" he stated as he turned around to continue placing his things in order.

"I told you we would find proof" Carth confidently said. He stretched his hand with the datapad on it, already open to Dustil's third file. The boy angrily took it and started reading it.

"This is master Uthar's" he said as he recognized it. They silently nodded and he kept reading the file. His face started losing its color as he scrolled down and before he reached the end, he dropped the datapad, a shocked look on his face. The boy grasped his bed for support and slowly sat down. He shook his head a few times and grabbed the datapad again. He re-read it and he placed it down and looked at Aspyre and his father. The latter walked over to him and sat down next to him. "They told me she had died on a training mission on the valley."

"They lied to you; she was slowing you down so they killed her. Superiority at any cost. Is that the family you want Dustil? Can you stay with them knowing what they did to you?"

The boy shook his head and chose his next words carefully, spending several long minutes calculating their strength until he settled for the first thing he wanted to say.

"I… I'm sorry for what I said to you. You… you took a real risk looking for this."

"I told you I would find something… I'm really sorry I left you and your mother, Dustil. I really am, but I had no choice, I went to war to fight so that you could have a future, so you could be safe. I never wanted to leave you."

"I think I understand" the boy replied after a long silence. "I guess I was just mad... I don't know about, about us. But I think I can give it a shot. You showed me you really cared."

"I'll take that, son. I'm very proud of you" Carth replied and placed his arm around him, hugging him tightly. The boy remained still for a few seconds, but then hugged him back. Aspyre felt her eyes water and had to do her best to keep a touched moan from escaping her lips. The men were silent for a second and then Aspyre spoke up.

"So what are you going to do now, Dustil?" she asked, very intrigued at what his answer would be.

"I don't know... I have some friends her. I want to warn them, maybe we can all leave. I heard Telos is being rebuilt, maybe I could go back there."

"I have a better idea" she pointed out. The Onasi men looked at her with the exact same look on their face, prompting a large hidden grin from her. "Why don't you come with us? You two have a lot to talk about and we have a young little Twi'lek girl on board that would just _love _to meet you. You would get along nicely."

Carth raised his eyebrows at the way she pronounced love, but said nothing. It was a good idea. That way he could keep him close to him, keep him safe.

"I don't know… I. Do you think it's a good idea?" He asked his father.

"We are on a dangerous mission, but I would feel better knowing that you were near me instead of all the way back on Telos. I made the mistake of thinking it was safe there once."

Dustil was silent for a while, thinking it through. He looked at his father and smiled at him.

"Get a chance for some payback, I like that idea. When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow. I'm going to the tomb of Naga Sadow tonight. I'm going to get to the star map and then we are off here."

"Naga Sadow, you're going for the test?" he asked her with a thoughtful look. She nodded and he proceeded. "Mas- Uthar takes you there alone. He makes you fight another student to the death, and however wins passes. That's gonna be though, I heard he managed to get two Terentareks there shortly after I passed."

Aspyre felt her stomach drop as she heard the boy's words. Great… The one living thing that was immune to her greatest strength. And there were two! How the hell was she supposed to take two of those demonic creatures? She was so scared at the idea that she completely ignored the fact that Dustil had admitted to murdering one of his fellow students.

"Usually, you can only enter the tomb with Uthar, but there is another way, we could get inside from the tomb of Tulak Hord and help you. I guess if he and Yuthura find out what you are after, they won't be happy with you."

Aspyre nodded. They had about four hours before she had to go report to Uthar and get ready for her test. She would find Zaalbar and HK and send the four of them to the tomb of Tulak Hord. She was going to need help with those Terentareks. She had a grim look on her face as she left, not looking forward to this at all.

00

So far, so good. Aspyre crouched in the corner, waiting for the right moment to strike. She saw Zaalbar press against the wall, bowcaster ready to fire. Carth had both blasters drawn and was lying on the ground, fingers resting on the triggers. She saw Dustil on the second floor, ready to pounce on the two Terentareks in the middle of the room. She saw HK quickly calculating the beasts' weak point and taking direct aim, holding his wrist rockets aimed perfectly at them. She held her breath and gave the sign to attack, a tiny huff of air. HK fired both rockets at the same time, both hitting their targets and causing enough pain for the beasts to pay attention to him. Zaalbar, Carth and Dustil threw two thermal detonators each on the beasts. Aspyre used the Force to guide them into the perfect position to inflict maximum damage. The six grenades landed between the two monsters, who looked down in surprise. They went off and flames engulfed them. Their screeches must have been heard all the way back in the academy.

Aspyre jumped forward and Dustil dropped, with a quick slash, his red lightsaber removed the head of the weakened Terentarek and Aspyre lifted hers with the Force. Under normal circumstances she would have never tried it, but the beast was weak and it could not resist her mental attack. She held it high in the air, as steady as she could. Zaalbar, Carth and HK fired at it, covering the beast's skin with blaster marks. After a few minutes, she eased her grip and the beast fell on the ground, now a barely recognizable piece of burnt flesh.

"There, now that that's taken care of, maybe we can get the star map and leave this place" Dustil said with a smile on his face.

Zaalbar roared in agreement and added something about them using him for manual labor and how glad he was that was over as well. Aspyre giggled and apologized to him, but with a wave of his paw he dismissed her apologies. The rest of the tomb was pretty much empty. They came across some sort of statue holding two grenades, one blue and another red. Aspyre picked both of them up and they went back to the main hallway. Being careful not to step on the corpses of the many being they had killed, the group advanced forward and reached a pool of acid, which HK quickly analyzed.

"Statement: This is a very volatile and explosive acid master, perhaps we could take some to fashion it into a useful weapon."

Aspyre nodded and HK proceeded to take a sample and storing it inside him. She thought for a moment, the grenades probably had to be the key to getting across.

"Okay everybody let's get back, I want to try something and I don't want anybody getting hurt!"

Everybody complied and they went back until they could barely see the entrance. Using the Force she grabbed the red grenade and rolled it over until it was inside the room and taking a deep breath, she pushed the activation button.

The acid did not take kindly to being turned on fire. It exploded violently and the flames engulfed the entire room. The gas that was coming from it also served to increase the flames and they started creeping towards them, consuming everything made of carbon in their path. It almost reached them and Aspyre lifted a barrier to protect them from the heat, but they died before they could consume them as well. Sighing in relief, Aspyre lowered the barrier and they gingerly made their way back to the pool, hoping to find it drained. They were greeted, instead, with a fresh new pool of acid being formed. Apparently, the amount of acid was more than what they had seen and after a few minutes the pool was back to its original size. After thinking for a few minutes, she concluded that the other grenade would freeze it, and hopefully allow them to proceed.

She pressed the button and threw it in the acid, and the effect was instantaneous. The pool began to freeze extremely fast and after only a few seconds, the ice had even crept to the ground near them and froze it too. She gingerly took a step forward and after HK assured her that the entire pool was frozen solid, she kept walking. They entered the room where Naga Sadow's coffin was, or rather, where it should be, instead they found the same black rose bud they had seen in Dantooine and Tatooine and she pulled out her datapad and opened it.

The star map hissed and after releasing the pent up gas, started opening and activating at the same time. The sea of planets and stars filled the room and she saw that a few of the coordinates that they were missing where here. She copied the information and happily turned back to her companions, jumping in joy.

"We got it! Let's go!" she said in a very girly voice. Dustil frowned when she spoke; it was like she had different personalities. The thought scared him a little and he hoped that none of those personalities where violent, at least not against them. They started to leave when Aspyre noticed another statue and approaching it she saw that it had a lightsaber on the top. She used the Force to bring it to her and gingerly activated it. The red light filled the room; it was much lighter than hers, almost as if she wasn't holding it at all. She saw that the blade was slightly longer than her two bladed lightsaber and after much consideration; she decided she liked this one better, blue was gorgeous, but red was so appealing, it was a shame that the Sith had given it such a bad reputation. She hooked her old lightsaber to her belt and turned back to them. Carth did not really like it very much, that much she could tell by his face. But Dustil's was also red, so maybe it wouldn't be much of a problem.

They were heading out when they saw Yuthura and Uthar standing in the pool of acid, waiting for her. Uthar turned, a smile on his creepy tattooed face, ready to congratulate her. But the smile faded when he saw Dustil, Zaalbar, Carth and HK walking behind her. She stopped when she was a few feet from them. Both of them had a look of shock on their faces. Biting her lip, Yuthura pulled out her lightsaber and ignited it. Uthar turned his double bladed one on.

"Traitor!" Yuthura yelled at her.

"Me, traitor? I am not the one looking to overthrow my master, am I?"

Yuthura gritted her teeth in response as Uthar simply shook his head in disappointment at both of his students.

"Time for you to die" he said with a smirk, and landing his eyes on Dustil's form he added "all of you."

Aspyre turned on her new lightsaber, all hope of a peaceful resolution now gone. Dustil turned his on as well and Zaalbar, Carth and HK ran to the corners to provide covering fire, and at least act as a distraction for them. Dustil charged towards Yuthura and Aspyre launched herself at Uthar, she swiped at him twice before he had even lifted his blade, cutting at his right arm. He winced in pain but he managed to block her third blow. Using the Force he pushed her before she landed on the ground and she managed to spin in a ball and land on her feet. He angrily charged at her, but was stopped by a few blaster bolts from Carth, that he deflected easily. Aspyre used this chance to turn around and using her body as a fulcrum point, she turned her lightsaber in a wide arc and threw it at Uthar, who managed to dodge it just in time. The blade kept flying at Yuthura and she lifted her blade to parry it, the blades clashed and hers was sent back. Uthar turned around to block a few more shots fired from HK, and succeeded, but he was not fast enough to move his head out of the path of the blade, and it cut cleanly through his neck, separating it from his body.

With her master now defeated, Yuthura dropped her lightsaber and surrendered, but Dustil kicked her to the ground and raised his lightsaber. He brought it down with all his strength and had Aspyre not been as fast as she was, he would have cut Yuthura in half.

Dustil watched in amazement how the blonde girl stopped his attack. She had managed to stop his lightsaber millimeters before it came in contact with the purple Twi'lek. But what really amazed him was that she had stopped it using her right hand. She grabbed the lightsaber by the blade and took it from Dustil's shocked hands. She turned it off and handed it back to him. Dustil shakily took it, unable to grasp what she had just done. He took a step back and bumped into his father, who placed a hand on his shoulder. Together they watched the blonde girl sit down next to the frightened and amazed Twi'lek as she proceeded to have a word with her, telling her of the dangers of the Dark Side and trying to get her to come back to the light. Dustil shook his head, he had no idea how she had managed to stop his lightsaber with her bare hands, but redeeming Yuthura? That was beyond her skill, that was beyond anybody's skill. He was so sure he would have placed money on it.

Money, he would have lost. Ten minutes later Aspyre and Yuthura were hugging on the frozen pool and Dustil had a dumbstruck look on his face. He turned to his father to find him that he was not nearly as surprised as he was.

"Does she do that often?" he asked his father. Carth smiled and looked at him.

"More often than you would think."

Yuthura stood up and thanked Aspyre. She hugged her and ran outside of the cave. Aspyre turned to the four of them and placed her hands on her hips, in an I'm-waiting sign before she turned around and headed for the exit. The four of them scrambled and began to walk out the tomb with her. Dustil walked a little faster and caught up with her. He eyed her carefully, all he had seen of her was her ridiculously long blonde hair, and her bright blue eyes. He had no idea what she actually looked like. He tried to peer through her mask, but again, only her eyes were available to watch.

"What's up?" she asked without looking at him. Dustil blushed slightly and asked her the first thing that came into his mind.

"How did you that? Stopping my lightsaber… and redeeming Yuthura, I mean."

"It's actually quite simple, I'll show you when we're back at the Hawk. And as for Yuthura" she responded, turning her head to him with a hidden smile undoubtedly covering her face. "You were a Sith yesterday, were you not?"

Dustil remained silent the rest of the trip. Thinking about who that woman was, how his father had met her, just how many tricks she had up her sleeve, and most importantly of all, what did she look like.

_Okay, so tell me what you thought about Aspyre's little mental breakdown there (I've been watching a lot of Evangelion lately, for college, I know great college right?), should I keep writing more of those? Leave them alone? Tell me what you think, thanks. Oh and FYI I have been playing with the idea of her second personality actually taking control for periods of time, what do you about that?_

_(Did you see the Ian Schmier Jedi Knight reference?)_


	18. Unlimited Reserves

Chapter 18

Dustil wondered how much longer it would take them to reach this Hawk of theirs. They had been forced to fight their way through the academy, after somebody had figured out their identity and tried to kill them. He had never seen so many Sith fight together, they truly hated the Jedi. In fact, it seemed to be the only thing that drove them to bond together instead of wildly killing each other. He looked over and saw Aspyre holding a wave of Sith in stasis while his dad and the wookie shot them dead. He turned his head, worried that they might try to ambush them and pin them down fighting on two fronts, but his fears were dissipated when he saw the droid using his flamethrower to cover their tracks, literally burning their footsteps and preventing anybody from coming in from behind with a path of blazing flames.

"Dustil!" his father yelled at him.

He turned his head and saw them taking cover behind a stone wall as Aspyre pushed back a few thermal detonators that were thrown against them. In the flash of an instant he lifted the best barrier he could muster, which was not that impressive, and felt the explosion engulfing him. He was sent flying against the hard metal droid, who managed to grab him by his collar and throw him where his father was. He silently thanked it and turned to see Aspyre, complete unharmed by the blast, throwing powerful Force waves against the endless Sith onslaught that threatened to crumble the entire building. Did she ever tire? She had been constantly using the Force ever since they left the tomb. She had placed hundreds of Sith in stasis, she had lifted numerous shields to protect them and even had healed the wookie when a thermal detonator had exploded on his face, all while maintaining the shield, and she did not even look tired. Did she have unlimited reserves?

He quickly stood up and began healing his minor wounds, removing his scratches and feeling a little better. His father grabbed him by his collar and quickly checked him for any wounds, satisfied he found none, he pulled a cyroban grenade and after activating it and counting to three, he threw it directly in the middle of the hallway. The grenade exploded and covered the few Sith that did not manage to get away in a sticky blue substance. They got up and running as fast as they could, they crossed the hallway and in a way that would have made his old master proud, Dustil and Aspyre threw their red lightsabers in perfect unison, each cutting through one side of the Sith troops. His father, the wookie and the droid ran between the two of them and opened the door to Uthar's room. They managed to get inside and before they closed the door, Dustil saw Aspyre turning back to the crowd and using both hands, she Force pushed all of them all the way back to the other side of the academy, multiple bones cracking and breaking in the process. She ran back and they managed to lock the door just as they saw a few blaster bolts were coming their way.

"Damn! There's so many of them!" Carth yelled in frustration.

"Eager Statement: I have not seen that many meatbags together since the gathering in the Senate last year, needless to say, I was most eager to kill them too. I am glad that their forces have not depleted, my circuits can hardly contain the excitement!"

Aspyre turned around to tell him that he was a droid and therefore could not feel excitement, but decided to remain quiet. She needed to think. They could not go back out there, despite HK's insistence, they would get butchered before they had a chance to mount an offensive. Looking back at the room she saw Zaalbar and Carth sitting in the bed, resting. Dustil was restless and was pacing up and down the room, his arms crossed and his gaze locked on the floor. She sighed and slid down on the floor. She was tired, really tired. Not physically tired, she had barely exerted her muscles fighting, but mentally. She was so tired; it was really hard to focus. It was hard to think. Hell, it was become increasingly hard to keep her bond-… The bond! Using the last of her mental strength, she focused and sent one tiny message into Bastila's mind.

"_Help."_

She tried to stay conscious, but her mind was too tired and it shut down. The last she managed to register was the image of Zaalbar stepping forward to grab her as she fell down on the ground.

00

Bastila woke up when she heard a tiny noise on the back of her head. It had been a few days since Aspyre had contacted her on their bond, and she was beginning to worry. She relaxed a little bit when she heard her voice again in her head, but she tensed immediately when she managed to listen to what she said.

_"Help"_ she said in the faintest voice she had heard her speak. She immediately sat up and tried to listen again, just to be sure, and there it was again, so faint she could barely hear it. _"Help!"_

She yelled at Mission to get up and ran to the men's quarters, hoping to find Canderous awake. She got lucky and he was actually about to leave the room when she opened the door.

"Aspyre" was all she said before turning around and all but running out of the Ebon Hawk, she yelled at T3 to follow them and the little droid beeped an affirmative. She opened the hatch to the Ebon Hawk and got out. She waited for a full minute before yelling at Mission again. The little blue Twi'lek yawned as she left the Hawk.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" she said between yawns.

"Aspyre is in trouble, we have no time for this!" she snapped at the alien. Mission tensed right away and nodded. The four of them hurried through the port and found it almost empty. Worried at the sight of no Sith, Bastila filled in the blanks and ran even faster, hoping they were not too late.

Canderous activated his regeneration implant and pushed it all the way to the limit, he had a very strong feeling that he was really going to need it. Blasting through the almost abandoned space port made him worry and he saw the Jedi Princess with a grim look on her face, this was bad, they better find the kid right away.

_"Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay, please be okay, please be okay, please be okay, please be okay" _was all Bastila could think of as she ran as fast as she could without using Force speed. She would have preferred to use it, but she couldn't carry all of them and should she run into some Sith, she would be in trouble and Aspyre needed her, she could not let her down by dying before she could reach her.

They ran outside the port and immediately Canderous saw he was right, he was gonna need it. Over a dozen Sith troopers and a few Dark Jedi turned their head when they heard them burst through the door, and recognizing Bastila, they lifted their blasters and lightsabers and charged towards them. Canderous jumped on top of the stone railing and began sliding down, shooting a volley of deadly hellish bolts down on the Sith, killing a lot of them and forcing the Jedi to acknowledge him as a worthy adversary. He smiled as he saw one of them turning his full attention to him and pulling out his knife, he gestured him to attack. The enraged Sith charged at him and Canderous grinned even bigger, this was going to enjoy this.

T3 was not done running his offensive protocols when he had to adjust his parameters in mid calculation, due to Canderous taking out about six threats readings. He had become accustomed to the parameters of the fight changing constantly and quickly when the Mandalorian was around and he had locked on and killed the last four Sith troopers that the blue Twi'lek, another friendly reading, had not killed. He received readings that informed him that Bastila had jumped and was currently fighting a few of the Dark Jedi. He placed away his blasters, as the data available told him that it was not the best course of action to shoot the Sith, as they could deflect a lot of his shots back at him, damaging his vital circuits. He opened his top compartment and pulled out his electrical arm. He rolled as quickly as his wheels would let him and he placed himself behind one of them. He bumped into his leg to divert his attention from the Jedi and electrocuted him when he turned around. He did the same thing to the one next to him and was about to proceed with the third when their life readings suddenly disappeared. Scanning his surroundings, he checked that all the hostile marks had been neutralized and he holstered his arm.

"Keep moving!" Bastila yelled at them. The four of them quickly entered the academy and they saw what could only be described as a Sith lynch mob, standing in front of a hallway, trying to get in. She put two and two together, but before she could make her move one of them saw them and they turned to face them, madness and bloodlust in their eyes. Bastila gritted her teeth, there were about sixty of them, they would picked them clean!

_"Aspyre we're here! Get out of the room! We have to split their attention!"_

As the first wave of Sith charged against them, she heard the door in the back open and saw a volley of blaster fire coming and colliding against the Sith in the back. She focused on the ones coming after them and hoped that nobody was hurt. She was going to be very angry if they were.

00

Aspyre closed her new red lightsaber as she pierced the last of the Sith in the face and looked at the most beautiful form she had ever feasted her eyes on, Bastila Shan. She all but ran towards her and lifting her mask, she jumped on her and wrapped her arms and lips around her. She felt Bastila tense slightly, but they were both way too relieved to see each other that they did not care that they were standing in a pile of dead bodies, much less that their crew mates were staring at the two of them. They parted after what felt like not enough time together and they turned to see Carth, Dustil, Zaalbar and Canderous all staring at them, Dustil and Carth the more shocked of the four. Aspyre caught Dustil's gaze and she realized it was the first time he had seen her without her mask. She blushed even more than what she already was and lowered her mask again, in a futile effort to protect herself from their burning gazes. Bastila simply exhaled and turned around to find Mission giggling at the pair. She placed her hands on her hips and she threw a "really?" look at her. Mission laughed even harder in response, prompting Bastila to grab Aspyre's hand and walk away. Mission was laughing so hard that she did not notice the boy that had just appeared into her field of vision until he came over and introduced himself to her.

"Hi, you must be Mission Vao. My name is Dustil, Dustil Onasi" he said with a polite bow. Mission opened her eyes and was quite shocked to see the Sith uniform, but was even more shocked when she saw the face of the wearer. The boy had short messy brown hair. He had deep green eyes with big irises and a straight, broad, but not ugly, nose. A very familiar nose. She turned her hair and saw the saw messy hair and the same big nose walking towards her. She gasped as she actually processed what the boy had said when he introduced himself.

"Onasi?" she asked him with a surprised look on her face. The boy smiled and nodded at her. She looked at Carth and he nodded at her too, a fulfilled smile on his face. Suddenly realizing that Dustil was in fact, very good looking, she turned into a deep purple and her lekkus twitched nervously. She held out her hand in a way she had seen a girl in Taris once do to an upworlder and Dustil took it and kissed her knuckled like he had seen his father do to his mother once a long time ago. Mission giggled and gingerly took her hand back. The pair looked at each other for a few seconds before Carth, damn him, interrupted them by pushing both of them towards the exit.

"Okay, you two will have enough time for introductions on the ship, let's go!" he said in a slightly annoyed voice. Dustil shook his head in an effort to clear his mind and nodded. The three of them turned and walked to the ship, Zaalbar, T3 and HK behind them. They saw Canderous, Bastila and Aspyre, still holding hands, walking slightly ahead of them. Canderous laughing at something he had just said and Bastila looking very annoyed at him, and slightly annoyed at Aspyre as she laughed too.

They walked past the port and they found it so desolated that they did not even bother to carry their weapons at a ready, except for Canderous, of course. Feeling exhaustion creeping onto her, Aspyre closed her eyes and she entered a semi-unconscious state, letting Bastila guide her back to the Ebon Hawk. She stopped hearing Canderous' remarks and she stopped hearing Mission's rapid fire speech that she was throwing at Dustil. She remained in complete and utter silence for a few minutes and she would have stayed like that, had a painful scream not filled her ears.

She opened her eyes and turned around to see Dustil lying on the floor holding his right shoulder and screaming in pain. She saw a dead body next to him, with a red lightsaber held on its hand, and next to it, she saw Dustil's arm, gripping his own blade. She ran to him as fast as she could and she saw Carth screaming at her to help him. She grabbed his arm and tried to use the Force to heal him back to one piece, but soon realized the futility of that action, not only was the wound cauterized, but even if she managed to put the arm back together, he would be missing a piece, and he would have an arm shorter than the other, and the nerves that connected it to his body would be gone. She saw Bastila crouch down next to him and placed her hand on his forehead. Dustil feel asleep right away and he stopped struggling.

"What happened? What did you do?" Carth screamed in panic.

"Don't worry; I just placed him in a trance so he won't feel any pain. We have to get him back to Dantooine; we can't do anything about his arm anymore."

Carth looked angrily at her and gritting his teeth, he picked the unconscious Dustil up and ran to the Ebon Hawk, Zaalbar next to him with his bowcaster in his hand, ready to fire. Mission ran behind them and Aspyre sent T3 and HK to follow and protect them. She stood up and she, Canderous and Bastila started to make their way back to the Hawk as well, albeit, slightly slower than them due to Aspyre's exhaustion. They entered the ship, the ramp closing and locking as soon as they were inside. They had not settled down when they felt the ship take off, ignoring quite a few safety procedures and taking off at full speed. Bastila ran towards the medical room and stayed with Dustil, to maintain his trance. Aspyre wobbly made her way to the cockpit and slumped on the co-pilot's chair. She saw Carth gripping the sticks with white knuckles and she did her best to punch in the hyperspace coordinates. As soon as she was done, Carth kicked the ship into full throttle and forced them into hyperspace. He placed the ship in autopilot and ran to the medical room. Aspyre sighed and decided she needed to sleep. Bastila could take care of Dustil, and feeling only a small amount of guilt, she headed to her quarters. She took off her semi-destroyed robes and fell down on Bastila's bed. She pulled the sheets up and did not even manage to shut the lights off with the Force.

00

Dustil woke up and immediately felt a sharp pain on his right side. He tried to move his hand to press where it hurt, but he found out that he couldn't. He opened his eyes and saw his father and a blonde girl with really long hair looking down at him. He assumed it was Aspyre, he had seen her face once, but when he tried to recall it he only received a headache. Again he tried to bring his hand to his forehead, but nothing happened.

"How are you feeling?" his dad asked him.

_"Like hell" _he wanted to say. "Not good" he said out loud.

"I'm surprised you're even awake, you're very strong" the blonde girl flattered him. He was about to ask her what she meant, but another wave of pain went through his body and he turned to see what was causing it. His eyes widened when he saw that his arm ended right after shoulder. He had no arm, no forearm, no hand, and no fingers. He opened his mouth in shock and screamed very loudly, not out of pain, although that was a real schutta, but out of horror at the sight. His father and the girl slowly managed to calm him down, very slowly, and it took him about five minutes to be able to see his arm, or his lack of thereof, without wanting to puke at the sight.

"How did this happen?" he screamed at them, just every bit as loud as he wanted. He was so furious, who the hell had cut off his arm?

"You don't remember anything?" his father asked him with a worried look on his face. Dustil thought for a moment and then shook his head; he really didn't remember anything after seeing the two Jedi making out in the middle of the pile of dead bodies. Now there was a memory he would never forget, but shaking his thought away and focusing on the horrible situation at hand, he shook his head in denial. His father sighed and explained him what had happened.

He had seen the Sith coming out from nowhere, flying through the air, heading straight for Mission. He had seen him take aim at her head, intending to remove it with a single blow. He had pushed her out of the way as the wookie pulled out his bowcaster and the Sith had slashed his arm off. He had fell to the ground and Zaalbar, that was the wookie's name, had shot the Sith twice straight in the chest. And then his father had placed about six shots on his skull. He was silent for a moment; he would have to thank Zaalbar for that. He returned his attention to the first sentence of his father's explanation.

"How is she doing?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.

Carth was touched that his son cared so much, he was touched and proud, damn he was proud of this boy. Lying in bed, with who knew how much pain rushing through his body, with an arm less and he was asking to see if the girl was fine. He smiled proudly at him and nodded.

"She's fine, only a few scratches. She was feeling really guilty and she has come visit you like twelve times in the last two days."

Dustil frowned, two days, how long had he been out? The girl noticed his confusion and answered him.

"Bastila placed you in a healing trance so that your body could heal itself from the effort, even though your arm is way past our abilities. You've been sleeping for about four days now."

"Well, thankfully it wasn't my fighting arm that bastard took off" he said with a smile on his face. He tried to get up but a sharp pain hit his side and stretching his only arm, his father pulled him up softly. He slowly got up and he reached for his lightsaber. Without turning it on, he took a few swings and deciding it wasn't as bad as it looked, he smiled satisfied. The girl smiled at him and nodded approvingly, but his father had a grim look on his face. "Relax dad, I can still fight. It's not the end of the galaxy."

Carth snorted and nodded at him, a small smile forming on his head. He took a step forward and hugged his son tightly. Aspyre excused herself and left them alone. The young boy felt secure for the first time in a very long time. There in that tiny medical bay, holding his father with his only arm, he felt for the first time since the bombing of Telos… safe. And despite the pain traveling through his body, despite the issues that he still had to solve with his father, and despite only having one arm, he smiled.

00

Dustil smiled widely as he defeated Mission for the third time in Pazaak, sure she had won the first five times, but that was because she had seen all of his cards when he tried to grab them with his mouth and place only one of them on the table and he had accidentally been showing her his hands for the entire game. However, now that he was using the Force to lift and turn the cards, he was kicking her ass, and had already recovered most of his money.

"Hey, how can I be sure that you are not using the Force to trick me into losing?" the girl asked him with a fake scorned smile on her face. He simply looked at her and laughed.

"You can't, that's the beauty of the Force" he said with an even bigger grin on his face. Mission smiled at him and they kept playing a few more times.

Aspyre watched them enjoy themselves as she drank a cup of caffa. It was good seeing Dustil back to his usual self, or rather to the self he was after he had left the Sith, his usual self was not that nice, he was polite, but not nice. It had been seven days since they had left Korriban; they would be dropping out of hyperspace in a few more hours. She finished her cup in one gulp and went to the cockpit, where Carth usually was. She sat down next to him and he smiled at her. He had been in a good mood for the past few days, despite the fact that his son was missing one arm, he had been remarkably cheerful and so had Dustil. It seemed that their healed relationship was a better medicine for his severed arm that the robotic replacement he was going to get today. She recalled Dustil's face when she had told him that he was going to get a robot arm, his eyes had lightened up and a huge grin had spread across his face, he had asked for the arm to have a wrist rocket installed, but the council, and his father, had refused right away.

And the council... They had accepted Dustil right away, after speaking with him briefly during the short time they dropped out of hyperspace, they had told him that should he want to follow the path of the light, he would be welcomed in the enclave and they held no resentment towards him for his past choices. He had politely refused and insisted that for now, his Sith training was enough to accompany his father on his mission. The masters, while doubtful, had finally agreed, not that their decision really mattered to anybody except Aspyre, and Dustil had thanked them and that was it. Aspyre was surprised with the council's reaction; they must be truly desperate for more Jedi, or they must not trust her to be able to complete the mission with the help she had right now.

After the talk, Dustil had spoken to HK who had been rather eager to explain to the human why his new mechanical arm would be much more productive and effective than his old meatbag arm. Dustil had asked him to secretly upgrade his arm after he got it in order to install a few components like a flame thrower and a secret lightsaber compartment, to which HK had agreed to do so happily. They had both agreed in their point of views and Dustil was laughing merrily until HK suggested that he might want to sever the rest of his limbs in order to become much more efficient than a human could ever be. He had looked slightly shocked and decided he was going to talk play with Pazaak with Mission and make sure that HK was not near him when he went to sleep.

"Hey Dustil?" she shyly asked him. He nodded to her as he floated his cards in front of him. "When you get that new arm, what color would you like it to be?"

"I haven't really thought about that… Black I guess, or silver, those are the only colors right?"

"Yeah but you can paint it later."

Dustil was quiet for a moment and an idea occurred in his head. He was glad he was not part of the Jedi council just yet and bracing himself he spoke.

"I guess I would like this color" he said, placing his finger on her arm. Mission blushed slightly and she yanked her arm back and as soon as she had finished the motion, she foolishly placed it back on the table again. She turned into a deep purple and placed a -9 card on her side of the table, bringing her total back down to 20, beating Dustil's already impressive 19.

Dustil chuckled and Mission gave him a nervous giggle. She muttered "thanks" and ran to the fresher. He watched her lock herself inside and was so busy being impressed by her running form that he barely noticed the just as beautiful girl sitting down next to him. He turned around and he jumped back in surprise to seeing Aspyre right next to him. She smiled at him and he felt slightly nervous.

"You two seem to be getting along quite nicely" she said with a pair of raised eyebrows and Dustil gave her a shaky smile.

"She's very nice" he lamely said. "Why did you want me to meet her?"

"Why? Well she has been with a lot of free time lately and she has been bothering me and Bastila" she openly said. It was good not having to hide it. Sure it had only been for a few weeks, but Aspyre was not good at keeping secrets from friends. "I figured that she could use something to keep her hands busy" she finished with a smile on her face. Dustil turned bright red at his understanding of the double meaning and he looked down at his cards. Aspyre suddenly caught it herself, unaware until then of the hidden meaning of her words. "Oh, no! She's not like that, that's not what I meant!"

Dustil nodded but keep looking down. Aspyre tried to say something but couldn't think of anything else, so she got up and went to her quarters, wishing she had been wearing her mask.

00

He had never seen anything that cool in his entire life. He flexed his fingers, they responded just like if they were his original ones. He made a fist, it clenched just like if it was his. He spread open his palm, and it relaxed just like if it was his. Dustil was very happy with his new arm. Hell, had he known how cool it would be he would have cut off his arm a long time ago. He got up from his bed and he followed the droid into the practice room. There were five small metallic boxes in the ground, each weighting about 30 kilograms. He walked to the first one and lifted it, expecting it to be nothing thanks to his new arm, but he found out that despite the fact that his arm could withstand and inflict monstrous amounts of pressure, he was still limited by his human shoulder, and he felt the weight just like before. Crushing the box, however, was a completely different game, and he crushed it like it was made of paper. He grabbed the rest and placed them in a neat stack as the droid instructed him. He lifted his fist over his head and with all the might his shoulder would allow him, he brought it down and destroyed the four boxes, breaking them in half. He smiled and moved to the next part of the room, where a few training droids were waiting for him. They beeped and twirled in the air, and after a few seconds they fired at him. He quickly moved his arms and flexing his… mechanical muscles, he spread the arm open and created a wide shield that covered his torso and face and absorb the seven bolts fired at him. The arm redirected the excess energy to its own backup power cell, giving it access to a few neat features, such as a portable energy shield, a flashlight, an x ray and even a CAT scanner.

"Well, somebody is happy with the arrangement" Aspyre with a smile on her face as she saw Dustil walking back towards them.

"You should try to keep it out of the water, it might rust or have a short circuit or something" Carth told jokingly.

"Can I draw on it?" Mission asked him.

Dustil nodded to the three of them and they made their way back to the council chambers. Bastila had gone to explain to them what had happened on Korriban, and they would most likely want to meet Dustil in person.

As they reached the door, Carth and Mission's steps faltered and they awkwardly stopped at the door. After much careful debating, Aspyre decided that Dustil might want his father with him, so she motioned for Carth to go inside and waited with Mission on the door. Carth silently thanked her and they both entered the council chambers.


	19. The Army Of Clones

Chapter 19

It had been a very long time since Aspyre had been to Manaan; in fact, she had not been there since she had first left Deralia and joined the Republic. She really, really, really hoped that the judges had changed since her last stay, if not; they would have to run away, very, very fast.

"What's bothering you?" Carth asked her softly.

"Oh… Well, the thing is… back when I had recently left Deralia, one of the first planets that I visited was Manaan. Things… did not go well" she grimly remembered.

"What happened?"

"Well… It wasn't really my fault, I tripped! That's all I did! There were some loose cables in the floor and when I rushed forward to ask a Selkath for directions to the nearest bathroom, I crashed head first into a few tanks of kolto. They told me that I could not return to Manaan, or they would execute me when I came back."

"Somehow that does not surprise me very much… But wait, execute you? Over a few barrels of kolto?" the incredulous pilot asked her, trying to suppress a laugh. The Selkath were protective of their kolto, that was true, but not that protective.

"Well… When I hit the first few barrels, they kind of hit the rest of the barrels, which in turn hit a huge stack of barrels, which crashed against the mainframe computer and kind off… erased everything on it... They said that I had erased most of the purchases and that now they had no way of tracking their sales and their orders. But it wasn't my fault! I really had to go to the bathroom! And the map was so hard to read I couldn't understand it and I had no idea where I was and I really had to pee!" she explained, her face turning redder and redder and her voice rising and rising until it became a high pitched squeal nobody could possibly understand.

Carth chuckled at the idea of seeing the girl crashing into a few tanks of kolto, setting a barrel tumbling chain reaction and finally, destroying the mainframe and single handedly ruining the kolto business for a few months. He laughed even harder and the sight of the small girl turning an even brighter red fueled his laughter even more.

"Please don't laugh it was really embarrassing!"

"Ha ha! I'm sorry I just pictured you crashing into the tanks and the sad part is… that I can totally see that happening to you right now" he told her between laughs.

The girl grabbed her mask and firmly placing it on, she stormed out of the cockpit and into the main room. Swallowing back the last few chuckles, he followed her and found Zaalbar, Mission, Bastila, Canderous, T3, his son and HK47 waiting for them. They took their places at the round table and began discussing their plan.

"The star map seemed to be underground, which means we have to get access to a shuttle in order to explore the sea floor" Bastila suggested.

"We don't have time for searching the entire ocean floor! Didn't you see anything in your dream that can help us find it faster?" Mission asked them.

"I did see some kind of metal floor near it. It's probably near an underwater base. We might have to ask around to find some clues that might point us in the right direction" Aspyre responded, her voice having returned to its usual tone.

"Statement: I analyzed the unique readings that the star map in the cave back in Tatooine emanated. I am certain I can track the position of this other map if they have the same energy readings" HK proudly told them.

"Can you read them now?" Mission asked him.

"Dismissal: I am not speaking to you, tiny blue meatbag."

"Hey!"

"HK! From now make sure you acknowledge Mission and follow her commands, unless they interfere with mine or Bastila's or Carth's."

"Incredulous Objection: Master, surely you are joking? You truly cannot expect me to follow the commands of this ridiculous meatbag; she has even more bodily fluids than the rest of you! My sensors hurt from just looking at her!"

Mission poked her tongue out at the droid as Aspyre asked him another question and ignored his outburst.

"How close do you have to be in order to read the signal?"

The droid sighed at his defeat and began calculating the distance necessary. He cocked his head to the side a few times while Aspyre, and probably the rest of the crew, wondered how it was that the droid managed to sound so human.

"Response: 5 miles to pick up the basic location and 2 miles to pinpoint the exact location."

The group's spirit was unanimously raised as they realized that the odds were not immensely stacked against them.

"So going over what we know, the star map is underwater, it is near a base, and HK can tell us when we are 5 miles from it, right?"

Aspyre nodded and started dividing the groups. Carth, Bastila and Mission would go to the Republic embassy and ask for their help in locating the star map and asking about any underwater stations they had. T3, Dustil and Aspyre would go to the Sith embassy. Thankfully, they both had their Sith uniforms, and they could pose as students from the academy, which was technically true, if they forgot the fact that the academy had been decimated and everybody inside it killed. Canderous and HK would go to explore the city and find any potential leads or anyway to find more credits, after all, their mission had lots of expenses and they had no way to get credits other than helping people and getting rewards, winning swoops races, which Aspyre fully intended to do, or cleaning out pazaak players.

Aspyre grabbed her white cloak and threw it on. Bastila went to their quarters and started getting on her new Jedi armor robes she had been building with T3 and Mission. She took off her clothes and grabbed the skintight white undershirt. She grabbed the cortosis weaved orange pants, her white boots and her white gloves. She took the orange light chest plate and the white armbands. Tying her hair in her usual pig tails she ran out the Ebon Hawk and found Mission and Carth waiting for her. Mission was wearing a black skintight suit that seemed more suitable for dancing than for stealth, letting lots of vital areas uncovered. Carth was wearing a very old standard republic armor with his bright orange jacket on top, two blasters holstered and ready to go. The three of them turned on their locators on and walked towards the Republic embassy while Aspyre, T3 and Dustil went the other way. From far away, Dustil and Aspyre would have looked like a very mean pair of Sith students. Dustil was wearing his student uniform flawlessly, not a single crease on his shirt. Aspyre's on the other hand, had several noticeable folds on her arms and chest, but any discomfort that she had with it could not be seen thanks to her white Mandalorian mask, her white cloak willowing and flapping with the cool sea breeze as they walked down the main street.

The Sith embassy was no different from the rest of Manaan. The outside was white; the floor was the same stone material as the rest of the city. Dustil was not comfortable there, and being back in his old uniform was not helping him feel any better. Aspyre's mask kept him from reading her face, but she was in a very aggressive pose, almost like threatening anybody standing on her way, clearly her days at the Sith academy had paid off, if anybody looked at her, they would have no doubt that she was a Sith, everything about her radiated evil, from her stance, to her mask, to her aura, to her right hand so dangerously close to her lightsaber. Dustil tried to imitate her, and similarly kept his hand close to his weapon. He looked over at T3; the little droid beeped angrily at nothing in particular, and drew his cannons, probably for nothing in particular.

00

HK's sensors did not pick up any hostile targets, which was annoying. All they picked up was more and more bodily fluids being held in flesh sacks moving around him, which was even more annoying. His master had even ordered not to provoke anybody in the city and to simply protect the Mandalorian should he need any assistance, which was even more annoying than the two other statements combined. Needless to say, HK was not happy with the arrangement. He scanned the area for the seventh time in the same minute, wishfully hoping that absolutely anybody that could be considered a threat would appear in his sensors, but sadly, no one did. The Mandalorian seemed disappointed as well, and after a few more hours of scouting the city, the unlikely pair returned to the Ebon Hawk, and waited for the rest of the crew to come back. HK immediately began his routinely check of the ship's escape routes, while the Mandalorian meatbag went to the men's quarters.

00

Bastila and Carth had already informed Aspyre and Dustil about the situation and they had proceeded to look for the droid that the republic officer had told them. Apparently the Republic had sent a spy droid into the sea for some reason they couldn't disclose to them. The Sith had captured the droid and now they needed to get back whatever data they had taken from it. The representative was really adamant about them hurrying and making sure that nobody knew what the data contained, which made Bastila uneasy. Aspyre and Dustil had managed to get inside the base, but moving around freely was far from their current situation, they had been told to wait in a white room, with one door, no chairs and no windows, while somebody came to talk to them about whatever the hell they wanted, they really had not been very specific as to why they had arrived at the Sith base, and Dustil's pazaak face was beginning to wear off…

00

Carth hurried to the pod, Bastila and Mission trailing in close behind him. He was really worried that the Sith might see right through Aspyre and their whole plan might come crashing down. The trio ran to the Republic hangar, and as soon as they were strapped in, they took off, hoping that their arrival would cause a distraction at the least. The pod took off faster than a speeder and before long they found themselves docking on the far end of the base, away from all the Selkath and Sith sensors. The three of them got out and thanks to Mission's hacking were able to pass through several security cameras undetected. The trio began to quietly creep towards the barracks, where Dustil, Aspyre and T3 were. Quietly and quickly running through the hallways, they stopped only to hide from a few Sith patrols every now and then, but other than the cameras, which were already taken care of, the security at the base was pretty weak. They had convinced themselves that they were going to rendezvous with Aspyre without anybody finding them when the saw the door to their left open and a huge war droid coming out of it. The droid quickly locked on to them, but Bastila's quick thinking managed to destroy his targeting systems and a few other key components, effectively rendering it useless. Instead of deactivating like it should have, however, the droid decided to screw with what his programming told him and started indiscriminately firing in all directions, blaster bolts ricocheting on the metal walls and leaving burnt marks all over.

"Mission, get back! Clear an exit for us!" Carth yelled at her as he opened fire on the droid while Bastila blocked most of the shots. Mission was about to tell him that there was nobody when she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards them. She poked her head on the corner behind her and saw four soldiers coming at them. Gulping down the fear rising on her throat, she quickly pulled out a thermal detonator, pressed the button and after counting to three, she threw it at them. The perfectly trained soldiers started to run to the sides of the hallway and ran even faster towards them, hoping to outrun the explosion. A clever move, had Mission not cooked it, and the detonator exploded, engulfing the four of them before they were out of its range. The trio ran down the hallway, leaving the damaged droid still firing wildly at everything and nothing.

They ran as fast as they could and reached a sealed door, the sounds of blaster fire warning them that Aspyre, Dustil and T3 were behind it. Mission started hacking the door open, but soon a huge explosion was heard from the other side. The floors and walls shook with the intensity of the blast, throwing them to the ground and sending shockwaves throughout the entire complex. Hands shaking with fear, Mission continued opening the door while Carth yelled at her to hurry. She tried inserting various numeric values on the last security program and after a few more seconds, she managed to get it open. She stood up and pressed the release button, hoping that the explosion had sounded bigger than what it actually was.

00

Carth had seen the effects of large explosions in close quarters, more than once had the ship he'd been, been fired on, causing huge ripples throughout the entire ship. However, the explosion that he was seeing was nothing like he had seen before. It had no starting point, it was as if the entire room had been the starting point, there was no difference in the intensity of the scorch mark on the walls, they were painted an even black. Ashes lay on the floor in the shape of what might have once been a human body. As Bastila and Carth approached the shapes and quickly began checking them for some kind of remains that could tell them who they were, they heard Mission throwing up just outside the room, Carth turned his head and quickly regretted it, the floor next to the Twi'lek was covered in a greenish liquid and some was still dripping from her mouth, and her usual bright blue was replaced by a dark sickening turquoise, liquid covering parts of her hands and her left lekku. As the poor girl tried to regain her composure, both of them kept looking for anything that survived the blast, but everything had been complete scorched.

"I have never seen a blast so powerful… It couldn't have been a thermal detonator, and that's the strongest explosive troops carry" Carth wondered to himself out loud.

"It was not an explosive, these are Force marks. This was made by lightning. Somebody charged their energy until it exploded, but they most have been incredibly strong in the Force to create such a blast" Bastila explained. Carth did his best to hide his surprise at the news. Somebody who was incredibly strong in the Force. So far they had not met anybody that was stronger than Aspyre. Did it mean she had done this?

"Who did this?"

"I don't know, the energy signature left is very odd. I can't really place it, but whoever did this was very strong in the Dark Side of the Force, the place is reeking with it."

Very strong. He silently hoped that the Dark Jedi who did this had vaporized himself too in the process. Yelling at Mission, the trio kept going deeper into the base, and the deeper they went, the more scattered Sith bodies they found.

00

_Fifteen minutes earlier._

00

Aspyre blocked the last shot fired at her and redirected it back at the remaining Sith trooper, it hit him straight in the chest and he collapsed in the ground with a soft moan. Mildly wincing, she turned back to Dustil and found the boy still punching though the energy shield's generator. The shield that guarded the door where the droid was stored was so strong it had blocked their lightsabers and resisted Dustil's Force Lightning. After careful consideration, the boy had started savagely punching at the generator with his robotic arm and after a few minutes, he had actually created a few dents, and the generator was starting to fail.

"Just… a bit… more… punches!" the boy told her between heavy breaths. Taking a step back, he pulled his arm back and taking a step forward and building as much momentum as he could, he brought a fistful of metal into the generator's core and crushed it against the steel wall. The core sparkled a few times, trying to keep the shield up for a long as it could, before Dustil's literal iron grip tore it from the generator and the power source died.

"Great job! Maybe we should have listened to HK and get you a second metal arm huh?" she said with an invisible smile on her face. Somehow the kid picked it up and smiled back at her, igniting his lightsaber and starting to cut the door open. He created a hole big enough for both of them to pass and as soon as he pushed the steel panel forward, a volley of blaster shots were fired from the other side. Had Aspyre been able to slow down time to a fifth of its regular speed, she would have not been able to pull Dustil aside from the path of the blaster bolts, and the fifteen of them crashed against his torso and sent him flying back against the wall. "DUSTIL!"

Dashing forward as fast as she could, she ran towards the hole, saw the three Sith troopers and felt something she had only felt when Malak had bombarded Taris. Hate. She felt the powerful stench of hatred rising from deep inside her and taking control of her limbs, she saw herself throw her lightsaber forward and slicing the head of the first Sith and severing the legs of the one behind him. As the third Sith jumped out of the way, she dashed forward, kicked him on his left side and sent him flying towards the path of her returning red lightsaber. The blade entered the body of the soldier and for a second vanished as it ravaged his insides and cleanly cauterized the wound, something Aspyre was glad it would do, as it would prevent him from bleeding to death, which was a less painful death than what she had planned for him.

As soon as she grabbed her lightsaber, she ran back towards Dustil. Less than five seconds had passed since he was shot, and thankfully, the boy had managed to pull up a rather feeble shield that had protected him from a few shots, and he was still breathing. Aspyre knelt down and placing her hands over the wounds, she began to focus on Dustil's energy signature and began closing the wounds and healing the organs that were damaged with the blasts. She gritted her teeth and focusing even harder began to force his bone marrows to produce more blood and his platelets to scar the wounds that she couldn't heal. She felt the boy's breathing begin to steady and she felt as her head began to hurt more and more. What started as a nagging on the back of her head was crawling forward, taking control of her brain and threatening to break her concentration. She gritted her teeth even harder and kept pushing the revitalizing energy inside Dustil, who by now was fully healed. He tried to speak, but Aspyre sent even more energy inside him, making him shut up. He literally saw as her hands glowed with the effort and as more and more energy was transferred to him. He told her to stop. He told her he was fine already, but the girl kept going, she kept pushing more and more energy into him. Dustil had never felt stronger in his life, it was as if his natural strength and powers had been augmented tenfold, and they kept getting stronger. He saw the girl's body shaking and firmly grabbed her hands and made her stop.

Aspyre felt Dustil grab her hands, but she felt like her hands were numb, she couldn't feel the boys fingers and metal extremities wrapping around her wrists, all she felt was a tingling sensation were his fingers were. She tried to speak, but the pain in her head was too much, it was overwhelming her, it was crushing her, it was destroying her from the inside out. She tried to scream, but her throat was sealed shut and she couldn't do anything. She saw Dustil moving his lips, but the deafening thumping of her heart was all she heard. She broke free of his grasp and took her mask off, throwing it away. She grabbed her temples with her hands and screamed as soon as her throat opened up, hoping that some of the pain would go away with it. She screamed until she ran out of air and then she breathed and screamed again. She closed her eyes shut and tried to endure the unbelievable thumping inside her skull. She felt as her breath was taken away by another yell and then she opened her eyes. She was back in the room. She was back in the white room. The sealed white room. The inescapable white room. The cursed white room. Shaking her head desperately she closed her eyes and opened them again and found herself thrown on the floor writhing in agony as a scared and worried Dustil was on top of her, trying desperately to calm her down. She felt the pain come back, even stronger than before and she blinked, trying to clear her blurry vision. And she found herself in the room again, the pain receding to the back of her head again. She shook her head and cowered in a corner blinking furiously, trying to go back to the hallway, with Dustil, trying to go back to reality, but the room wouldn't go away, it wouldn't free her, it wouldn't let her go.

"Why am I here AGAIN?" she yelled at the empty walls, waiting for the Aspyre clones to come back to taunt her again. She repeated her question again and again, but nobody responded. Just like the first time, they would wait, they would wait until she was broken, until she was desperate and then they would attack.

But it was not the army of clones that came forward. It was a single Aspyre, smiling innocently and sweetly at her. She brought two chairs with her and placed them directly in front of each other. She sat down on one and looked at Aspyre, and still smiling, motioned her to sit down with her. Aspyre shakily made her way to the chair, carefully eyeing the clone. What had her mind come up with now?

"You look tired" the clone said with a worried look on her face.

"I am tired" Aspyre responded as firmly as she could muster.

"You look like you want to rest."

"I want to rest."

"You look like you want a break."

"I want a break."

"You look like you want to sleep."

"I want to sleep."

"You look like you want to stop fighting."

"I want to stop fighting."

"You look like you want to run away."

"I want to run away."

"You look like you want some help."

"I want some help."

"I can help you."

"How?"

"You can rest here. I can go and help you outside."

"Who are you?"

"I am Aspyre Venar."

"No. _I _am Aspyre Venar."

"No. You are a copy of me. A copy that has worked for too long. You need to rest."

"You're the one that is a copy. I am the real Aspyre Venar. I have been living for 24 years, almost 25."

"No. _I _have been living for 24 years, almost 25. You just took my place because I was tired."

"You lie" the real Aspyre shot back at the clone. The clone that was almost exactly like her. The same pointy nose, the same petite lips, the same long golden and white hair, the same stance, the same look of determination on her eyes. Everything was like her, except the eyes themselves. Her eyes were blue. The clone's eyes were yellow. A dirty, sick, evil looking yellow. No matter how kind her face looked, her eyes betrayed her, pure hatred; pure resentment; pure evil oozed from them, contaminating her face, her body, her soul.

"I… do… not."

"Why are you here? Why am I here?"

The clone's soft and kind mask broke, and her true colors were revealed. Thick bluish veins popped from under her paling skin. Her eyes turned even yellower and were completely bloodshot. The kind smile on her face was replaced by a corrupted snarl and her aura changed from the soothing, peaceful blue to a savage and furious red. The clone got up and taking a step forward, grabbed Aspyre by the throat, and lifted her.

"I am here to get my body back, and you are here to give it to me!" she snapped with an angry screech that made Aspyre's ears bleed. Her grip became stronger and stronger and Aspyre started to thrash around, trying to break free, but the clone laughed in her face and lifting her even higher, threw her against the wall. Aspyre felt her shoulder dislocate as she banged against the wall, she felt her neck being lacerated as it bent into an unnatural angle, but she was glad that at least she felt air return to her semi-crushed windpipe and into her lungs. She saw the clone pick up one of the chairs and with a perverted grin, bring it down on her face, breaking it into a million pieces. She felt intense pain as her perfectly angled nose shattered, as pieces of metal from the chair went inside her cheeks, inside her lips and inside her eyes, as the crushing blow banged her head against the floors and made it bounce back with the force of the impact. The pain was too much for her, it was too much to even register it, and had her vision not been clouded by red, she would have not known she was bleeding. She tried to speak, but the pieces of metal kept her mouth shut. She felt tears come to her eyes as she saw the clone picking up the second chair. She felt terror rising in her throat as she saw her standing on top of her and she felt despair as she saw her bringing the chair down against her chest.

00

Dustil tried to comprehend what was happening, the girl had been screaming like her arms had been ripped off. She had started to tremble and now she stared at the ceiling, not moving, not reacting to anything Dustil did. He tried shaking her, pushing her, talking to her, slapping her. Nothing worked; she was just completely out of reality, she was completely catatonic. He saw as a glint appeared in her drying eyes and he was filled with confusion as he saw the eyes turning yellow for a few seconds, before reverting to their normal blue. He saw as she started shaking against and slowly she began curling into a ball. Dustil stared at her, dumbfounded and terrified at the intangible sight developing in front of him. He saw as energy began to flow through her body, as ripples of lightning ran from her legs through her fingertips. He had never seen anything like it. He tried to shake her again but this time he received a very strong shock from one of the lightning currents running though her. He yelped and jumped back in surprise. He was going to go and get T3 to see if he knew what was wrong with Aspyre, if he remembered correctly, they had left him all the way back in the first hallway to east, planting mines and taking a defensive position, to block any attacks coming their way. He began running and had barely managed to open the door when he heard energy crackling behind him. He turned around and saw Aspyre, still curled into a ball, with huge ripples of lightning running through her, the waves and fluctuations becoming larger and more erratic. He took a step back and barely managed to raise the strongest shield he had ever mustered in his life when he saw as the waves stopped, and a huge explosion of lightning filled the room, sending him flying all the way towards the end of the hallway, which was more than a hundred feet away. Using all his new might, he used the Force to push against the wall and managed to avoid a very nasty hit, although he still banged his side on the wall. He turned his head and saw Aspyre standing up, in the middle of the charcoaled room, in a very menacing stance, looking directly at him.

00

Aspyre tried to avoid the second blow, she tried to roll away so the chair would hit the ground, but the clone was much too fast and the metal chair had connected with her ribs before she managed to roll away. She felt as the piece of metal embedded in her lips fell down as she ripped her mouth free in order to scream again. She screamed as loud as she could, she sobbed and wept from the pain, and she saw the clone, the fucking clone, staring down at her with a smile on her face. Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this? Was it the people in Taris? The fallen Jedi? What did she do? Was that it that had caused this excruciating torture? Was this her punishment for not saving them? Was this what she deserved for her failure? She felt a hand wrap around her throat and lift her broken body from the blood stained ground.

"Give me my body back, Aspyre."

"It's mine" she mumbled weakly between ripped, bloody lips.

"No… it has never been yours. It was never yours. It is mine, it has always been mine and it always will be."

"I don't know what you are talking about; I have no idea what you're talking about!" she wept into the clones face as confusion and frustration filled her voice.

The clone grew even more furious and pulling his fist back, she punched her face with all her might and sent her flying across the room, colliding against the wall again. Aspyre felt another wave of pain as her body's remaining integrity was defiled one last time. She saw black lines forming on her red stained vision and the last image she registered was of the clone walking over to her, lifting her foot, ready to bring it down on her face with that disgustingly sadistic grin covering her malicious features. The last sensation she registered was as the clone's boot crushed her skull against the ground, splitting it apart.

00

Revan stood proud in the middle of the scorched room, breathing heavily and tiredly. She had done it… She had finally done it! After so long, after so many months of trying to remove that pathetic child from her body, she had finally managed to get rid of her! She smiled in satisfaction. Oh, how Malak was going to be surprised. Oh, yes he would be… She lifted her gaze from the floor and saw a boy standing on the other end of the hallway, looking at her in terror. Who was he? She began searching Aspyre's memories, who was that boy? Dustil, his name was Dustil Onasi; he was the son of… Carth? Yes that was his name. She began walking, or rather stomping, towards him, hoping to catch him before he ran away, but the boy was smart and using Force Speed, he ran away from her. She tried to catch up, but she was still not 100% in control and found herself unable to use her body with full precision, a revelation that came to her when she stumbled on her won feet and fell face first on the empty hallway. Cursing under her breath, she stopped running and kept walking, that at the very least, she could do properly.

00

Bastila fell down to the ground as she felt a dark presence creeping into the back of her head. The bond! Aspyre was falling to the Dark Side! Or had she remembered? Not liking either of those two options, Bastila used Force Speed to run as fast as she could, leaving the protesting Carth and Mission behind, calling her name. She bolted down the hallway and turned the corner swiftly. She saw the tip of Aspyre's white cloak as she turned the next corner and pushing her body to her very limits, Bastila ran after her and after about three seconds, she was right behind her.

"Aspyre?"

The girl stooped walking as she heard the name. She angrily turned around and Bastila saw that she wasn't wearing her mask. And with a gasp of horror, she saw the sick yellow eyes staring back at her. The silence lingered between them as Bastila saw her face transform from the angry frown into a predatory snarl.

"The name is Revan, Darth Revan" she snapped at her through gritted teeth.

_So… took me a long time but here it is, hope you like it. Now that I'm in vacations I will probably write a lot more and return to the days when I uploaded a new chapter every three days or so… Anyways, sorry for the wait and tell me what you think ^_^ thanks!_

_VERSION 1.5: People! Seriously? 3 reviews? I mean I appreciate those three reviews, but counting that one of them is "I like it so far" I'm not getting much feedback! Does that mean you love every single aspect of my writing? Sheesh... Anyways, leave some comments people, please! Thank you_


	20. Some Of Us Will Die

Chapter 20

Bastila's eyes widened with fear and horror at the sight in front of her. The Dark Lord of the Sith was in front of her. She would have honestly preferred if it was Malak in front of her, and not her, anybody, but her. Revan stood tall and proud, facing Bastila with a mixture of contempt and disgust, her sick yellow eyes boring deep into her soul. Her aura changed, it was no longer the innocent calm white that Aspyre had, it was a deep angry red that burned furiously.

"Aspyre?" she repeated, her voice trembling with fear.

"I told you, you foolish Jedi" Revan spat out the word as she Force choked Bastila. "The name is Revan!"

Bastila felt her windpipe constrict tightly, preventing her from drawing the precious air that sustained her life, but something was wrong. It wasn't crushing her windpipe, it was merely closing it. She opened her eyes and saw Revan's hand tremble with the effort of holding the choke. Blinking back tears of pain and fear, Bastila managed to focus on their bond and called Aspyre with all her might, hoping to break Revan's concentration. The ruse worked and for a split second, Revan had to break her rather feeble hold on Bastila's throat to keep Aspyre from returning. But Bastila had no intention of letting Revan stay for long and using the Force, pushed her against the wall and placed her on stasis. Had they been fighting a fair fight, Bastila had no doubt that Revan would have crushed her, and very easily, but Aspyre was still there, holding Revan back, breaking her concentration, diluting her senses, giving Bastila the chance she needed to free her.

"_Aspyre! Can you hear me? Answer me!" _Bastila pleaded through their bond, but Aspyre did not answer her.

_"This body is mine, Jedi!" _Revan disgustedly told her. _"Your foolish council made a mistake of letting me life and so have you!"_

Bastila was pushed back and thrown to the ground as Revan broke free from her grasp and pushed her back.

"Die, Jedi!" she screamed as she jumped on top of Bastila, lightsaber ignited. But she was too slow, too predictable, and Bastila rolled out of the way and sent a large blast to her right, directly to Revan's temple, and sent the Sith Lord flying against the wall.

"This time, Revan, you cannot win!" she declared as she ignited her lightsaber and prepared to fight. And this time, she thought with a sad smirk, it was true, Revan could not win, not only had she become stronger and more attuned with the Force, but Aspyre was still in her mind, not allowing her to fight properly, not allowing her to unleash her full potential. But there was no guarantee that it would last, and if Aspyre was defeated, then there was no hope for them.

Bastila charged at Revan and did a summersault when she was only a few feet away from her, bringing her blade down with her all her might. Revan lifted her own blade to block, but the force of the impact, and Revan's weakened state, did not allow her to block the attack correctly, and her entire arm trembled with the impact. Bastila saw Revan crumble beneath her blow and for an instant, lowered her guard, and instant Revan exploited and sent a wave of Force Lightning to her stomach. Had Bastila's lightsaber not been double bladed, the full might of the impact would have hit her, but luckily, her lightsaber protected her to some degree, and she only felt mild burns creeping through her stomach.

Ignoring the pain creeping on her, Bastila pulled back her foot and kicked Revan directly in the face, sending her head back against the wall. She heard a loud bang as the back of her skull collided against the metal wall and before the Sith Lord could defend herself, she kicked her again on the side of her head, hoping to cause only slight, non-permanent damage to her temporal lobe. Revan buckled under her boot and fell on the ground, unconscious. Releasing a breath she had not realized she was holding, Bastila happily turned off her lightsaber and knelt down next to her. She forcefully opened her eyes and gladly saw that they were back to their usual bright blue color. She sighed as she sat down next to her. There was going to be too much to explain, she thought as she placed her head on her hands. Carth and Mission would not let her free until she told them every last detail, damn them, and Dustil, she had felt his presence, she would have to explain things to him as well. Sighing, she began to think of a lie to tell Carth and Mission, there was no point in deceiving Dustil, he had probably seen her, plus he could use the Force, he would tell right through her lies. Deciding she had to get Mission and Carth out of the way, she lifted Aspyre on her arms and walked back the way she had came, just as the pair turned on the corner.

"Bas- Aspyre!" Mission yelped as she ran towards them. She hurriedly checked her wounds and faced Bastila, silently asking her for an explanation.

"There's no time for this right now, Mission! I have to find Dustil!" Bastila hurriedly and cleverly said, striking at their combined weak point. Carth immediately looked up at her when she said this and she cursed herself for saying it so hurriedly.

"Where is he?" he half asked, half demanded.

"I don't know, he was supposed to stay with Aspyre, but she was alone, I'm going to go find him, in the meantime, I need you to take her back to the ship and wait for us" she told him. He was about to protest, but Bastila shut him up just as quickly. "I can search for him faster if I don't have to drag you with me Carth, please just trust me!"

Gritting his teeth and muttering under his breath, Carth took the unconscious girl and followed Mission as they headed outside the base. Turning on her heels, Bastila began dashing down the deserted hallways of the Sith base, following Dustil's trail. She ran past a large amount of dead Sith troopers, destroyed droids and dead Selkath. She followed the trail all the way to the back of the base. She stood in front of a large metal catwalk, filled to the brim with burning hot gas that slightly burned her even outside the hallway.

"He must have crossed it and turned this on, clever boy" she muttered under her breath as she covered herself with a tiny shield and began running through the walkway. She arrived at a metal door and pushed the release button. As soon as the door finished opening, she was greeted by a large blast of Force Lightning that completely ate her shield. Feeling the heat burning through her skin, she let out a scream and jumped out of the burning hallway, she jumped with such strength that she actually collided against the floor and landed on the ground, hurt, but alive.

She slowly turned around as her muscles told her she was a sadistic bitch for making them go through this hell, and met with a red blade pointed directly at her face. Any Jedi, when faced in this situation, should expect death, for Sith never showed any mercy. Bastila braced herself, for the inevitable, she closed her eyes, not wanting to give her attacked the pleasure of seeing the fear in them, gritted her teeth, much like a child did when awaiting an injection, and waited, but nothing happened. Not daring to open her eyes, she tried to feel her surroundings through the Force, but the heat from the hallway next to her was too great, and it did not allow her to concentrate. Gritting her teeth even harder, she opened her eyes, and felt a huge wave of relief crash over her when she saw that the person responsible for making her almost wet her pants with fear was Dustil Onasi.

"Oh… Thank the Force" she whispered as she slowly stood up. "We really need to change the color of your blade, Dustil, I thought I was dead."

"Oh, sorry, I just thought… that you were Aspyre."

"Yes, I ran into her too. She tried to attack me, but I subdued her. She's back in the Ebon Hawk. She fine now" she added when the boy opened his mouth in shock. "There is something you need to know, Dustil, but you cannot, you absolutely can never, ever tell anybody about this, do you understand?" when she saw the extremely curious boy nod, she continued. "I want you to listen carefully and not interrupt me until I am done, for this is very important. The council has ordered me explicitly not to tell anybody about this, but somebody needs to know in case… well, somebody needs to know."

"About Aspyre?"

"Yes. I have slowly come to the realization that… That we might not all make it, that some of us will die" she said to the confused and scared ex-Sith. "And if I am one of them, well somebody needs to know, somebody needs to be prepared in case that the inevitable happened. Aspyre, she… The person that you see every day, the one that entered the base with you today, that was Aspyre, but the body, well the body is not hers."

"What?"

"Please let me explain. Aspyre Venar is a real person, but she wasn't born. She… she was created by the Jedi Council. They took a mind that was very damaged, almost to the point of being in a vegetable state, and they healed it, and gave it new memories, a new personality, new values and flaws. Has it ever occurred to you that sometimes Aspyre is very childish? During missions and in periods of stress she is very calm, controlled and serious, but when there are no threats, she seems even more immature than Mission?"

"Well, I had noticed that, but I just thought that was the way she was" the dumfounded boy responded.

"That is the way Aspyre Venar is, but when she is fighting, you see the personality of the other mind, her original mind. The person that was born in that body. It has happened before, but she never notices it and only for very, very short periods of time, one, two seconds. Today was the first time that the original mind took completely control over her body."

"I felt her change, she felt so… evil, so cruel."

"Yes, she felt like that because that is how she was before her mind was destroyed. That is the original personality of that body, not Aspyre Venar."

The two sat down in silence. Dustil, wondering how it was possible for the Jedi council to do something like that, just how damaged Aspyre's mind was, and about how evil she had seemed when she had turned, just after she had healed him. Bastila, wondering and debating whenever to tell Dustil what the original person in that body was.

"And how was the original person, the one that was born in that body? You haven't said her name" he pointed out.

"I… I don't know if I should, as I said, I am under strict orders to not tell anybody about this" she responded, not sounding entirely convinced of that.

"Look, you can't just leave me in the dark, and as far as your orders go, you already broke those, so don't hide behind them."

"Fine" she spat out after a long moment of silence, then bracing herself she kept speaking. "The other mind in that body aside from Aspyre is… Revan."

Dustil's body actually entered something similar to standby while his brain processed what Bastila had just said. He shook his head and repeated the last phrase on his mind, just to make sure he had heard it quickly, and once he head, his eyes went wide as satellite dishes, his mouth fell open and he started sweating.

"Re-Revan?" he asked with a soft voice. "Darth Revan?"

Bastila thought for a moment and nodded.

"But… but Revan was killed! Malak-" he started protesting.

"Malak lied to you, just like the Jedi lied to almost everybody. Nobody could know that Revan was still alive or their entire plan, and perhaps the only way to stop Malak would be ruined."

"So Revan… Aspyre?" he asked her again, and Bastila nodded again. "This is… too much. But how do we know that Revan isn't coming back? How do you know she is not going to wake up again in the Ebon Hawk and kill everybody?"

"Relax, as I said, it has happened before, but never for this long. Revan can only take control when Aspyre's mind is too exhausted to resist her, and that only happens in extreme scenarios. When she blacks out, she returns to her normal self, or rather, from her normal self back to Aspyre. What I think we should do now is go back to the ship, you go and be with your father and I will place her in a sleeping trance until we can find the star map and go back to Dantooine, she is going to need to be healed and the Masters are the only ones that can heal her mind and make Revan recede, at least for a while."

"What happens if Revan wakes up again?"

"Then I'll knock her out unconscious. As long as Aspyre remains in her mind, Revan can't use her full potential, because she has to focus on keeping Aspyre locked, and that makes her a very easy enemy to fight."

"All right" the not so convinced boy agreed, and the pair returned to the main computer room, where T3 was waiting with the data they had come to gather. As soon as they arrived, the droid happily greeted them and began following them, beeping and whistling.

The two made their way back to the Ebon Hawk, they climbed up the ramp and Dustil went to speak with his father, while Bastila went to the medical bay to see how Aspyre was doing. To her surprise, she wasn't there. Turning around on her heels and with a confused look on her face, Bastila went to the girls quarters and found she wasn't there either, she went to the men's and did not find her either, finally, she tried the garage and was met with a sight she thought she would never see in a million years. Canderous Ordo, the ruff Mandalorian that loved to speak of the worlds he had destroyed and the enemies he had killed, was sitting in one corner of the garage, with Aspyre's sleeping head on his lap, whispering something softly to her. HK 47 was standing guard next to him and he pointed his blaster at her before recognizing her as friendly. Not sure how to interrupt him without sounding rude, she simply clearing her throat and Canderous sharply looked at her and narrowed his eyes.

"What happened to her?" he asked in a dangerous tone.

"Her mind, her mind is very damaged. She went berserker when I found her and I had to knock her out unconscious and bring her back here."

"Why is her mind damaged?"

"I think it happened because she used to much power, Dustil was hurt, bad and she had to heal him, she used so much of her own strength to heal him that she simply cracked. Has she woken up?"

"No. Will she be fine?"

"Yes, when she wakes up she will be her old self again. We need to have a meeting, now, it is very important" she said , radically changing the subject. "HK can take care of her, after all he won't let anything happen to her, right HK?"

"Confident Statement: I will rip the sternocleidomastoid off any meat bad that tries to hurt the master."

Grumbling, Canderous stood up and placed Aspyre's head gently on top of his red vest and grabbing his gun, he went to the main room. Bastila went to the women's quarters and called Mission, went to the cockpit and got Carth and Dustil, and the three of them joined Canderous, Mission and Zaalbar on the main room. They all sat down and waited for Bastila to explain.

"We need to make a decision. Aspyre is in no condition to come with us, so she will have to stay with the ship, who wants to stay with her, in case she wakes up?"

"Wait, wait first tell us, what happened to her?" Mission blurted out.

"She… her mind broke down, she used the Force to heal Dustil and she exerted herself beyond her limits, causing her mind to break, I felt it when it happened, but now that is unconscious, she will be back to her normal self once she wakes up, for now she just needs to rest, after we find the star map here, we can go back to Dantooine and have the Jedi council heal her better than I can. For now we have to focus on getting the star map as fast as we can so we can get her help. So, who wants to stay with her on the ship?"

"I will, I will not let her out of my sight, I have failed to protect her and I will not do so again" Zaalbar roared.

"I… I think I will stay too, it's partially my fault that happened to her, so I think I owe it to her" Dustil said.

"I want to stay as well" Mission said, raising her hand and throwing Dustil an innocent smile, which did not look so innocent to Carth, but he stayed quiet.

"Right. So that leaves Canderous, Carth, HK and me to go get the star map. Well then, we should hurry, I want to get it before Aspyre wakes up."

"I'm staying" Canderous declared quietly to the shocked group. Ignoring their questioning glances, he grabbed his rifle and headed back to the cargo hold.

"Hum… very well then, Carth, HK 47, let's go to the Republic embassy, they will want to know we have retrieved their data" Bastila said as she eyed the retreating Mandalorian carefully. If he thought he would do anything to Aspyre while she was unconscious, he was going to regret it. "Zaalbar, please don't let Aspyre out of your sight, I'm really worried about her."

The wookie roared and affirmative and feeling slightly relieved, she headed out the Ebon Hawk, Carth and HK right behind her.

00

Aspyre woke up with a throbbing pain searing through her head. She tried to sit up but found that her body was not responding, her right arm hurt a lot and her head felt like she had been kicked multiple times. She groaned out loud and tired to roll over, but wherever she was resting on stopped existing and she began to fall down, before a large hairy hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt. She felt the hand lift her and place her back on the soft surface. She opened her eyes and saw Zaalbar, standing on next to her, looking down at her with worried eyes. She looked around her and recognized her surroundings as the Ebon Hawk. She was in the women's quarters, on Bastila's bed.

"What happened, Big Z?" she asked him with a very weak voice.

"Bastila brought you back here, you where not seriously injured, but she said that your mind had been very damaged, and she had been forced to knock you out" Zaalbar roared at her, he was speaking rather softly for a wookie, but the sound was still loud enough to make her ears ring.

"Oh… my mind?" she asked slightly confused. "The last thing I can remember is… healing Dustil and then… and then I was… in the room!" she said the last word with a screech and stood up as her mind was flooded by her memories in that hellish place. She remembered vividly every last detail, every second of her stay there, the long wait before the other Aspyre appeared, the pain she had inflicted her, the torture she had endured, and how she had to watch as the clone opened a door out of the room and stepped out to the most beautiful scenario she had ever seen. A large field with beautiful red and yellow flowers blossoming, wild baby Kath hounds and Tachs running around freely, with a crystal clean river flowing right in the middle, with Bastila waiting for her. She remember how she yelled at her, told them that the one walking towards her was not her, but a clone, and she had to watch how the clone took Bastila's face in her hands and kissed her. She remembered the last thing she saw before the door closed shut, Bastila whispering in the ear of the fake her.

"I love you"

She screamed again as another wave of pain hit her, grabbing her head with both hands she closed her eyes, and hoped it would go away, but the throbbing increased, she could feel the blood rushing through her veins, she could feel as her heart contracted, painfully, and sent more blood than what it was necessary, she felt as her veins and arteries threaten to burst. She opened her eyes and saw Dustil in front of her, his hand on her forehead, sending soothing waves through her body. The pain receded slightly and she managed to blurt out a few words.

"Please, knock me out."

She could no longer tell if the boy had complained with her request or if she was about to black out because of the pain, but she was glad she would lose consciousness, the pain was tearing her head in two, and she couldn't take it anymore.

00

The hours passed, and Bastila, Carth and HK had not returned with the star map's data. Mission and Dustil had passed the first two hours talking, flirting and getting to know each other much better, something they had not been able to do with the large crowd that usually filled the ship. Zaalbar stayed most of the time with Aspyre in the women's quarters, only leaving her to go to the fresher once, and Canderous spent most of the time in the hangar, cleaning his gun, Mission's gun, Zaalbar's bow caster and a few other spare guns they had, and tweaking them, squeezing a little more firepower from them, making them only slightly more accurate, doing anything to pass the time. For the first time, the two teens had the entire ship almost to themselves, and at least for a few hours, they could forget about having to safe the galaxy, and focus on themselves, and do something neither of them had been able to do since they were little children, forget about their responsibilities.

As she huddled closer to Dustil, Mission realized, she had never done any of the things teenagers were supposed to do. She had never gotten into trouble with her parents, on the account she never had any. She had never sneaked out of her home to go to a party, on the account she didn't have a home, or a party to go to, or kissed a boy. Kissed a boy, well, she thought as she bit her lower lip and twirled her left head tail with her index finger, that at least I get to do today. She saw Dustil lean closer to her and she felt her heartbeat increase faster than that time the Black Vulkars had thrown a thermal detonator inside the bathroom she was in. She felt his lips press against hers and his hand press her face against his as their kiss deepened. She began to feel dizzy as he pressed something wet, soft and warm inside her mouth, which after intense exploration with her tongue she recognized it as his own, and his hands stroked her lekkus softly.

00

Dustil felt how Mission pulled him on top of her as she lay down on the bed. He climbed on top of her and pressed his body against her curvy form, which allowed him to feel every inch of her beautiful body. Her delicious blue skin invited him to lick it, to stroke it, to suck it, to bite it and he dutifully obliged. He separated his lips from Mission's and began to kiss and lick her neck while he stroked and softly pulled her head tail, resulting in the cutest moans he had ever heard, being whispered right next to his ear. He kept licking her neck and began to stroke her body over her clothing, feeling her thighs, her stomach, her back…

He felt her push him away from him as she sat up on the bed and hurriedly took her jacket off, leaving her in her black tank top and pants. She looked at him slightly out of breath and with an embarrassed look on her face.

"I… I had never done that before" she admitted to him. Dustil smiled at her and kissed her again, forcing her down on the bed. He grabbed her right head tail and after thinking about it for a second, brought it to his mouth, earning a quivering moan from Mission and a firm hold on his back as she arched her back after being overwhelmed with pleasure. A Twi'lek had about two thirds of his brain on his, or in this case her, skull, and the rest was on the base of her head tails, which were absolutely _filled_ with nerve endings. This allowed Twi'leks to sense their surroundings, making them excellent fighters, but it also made them extreme sensitive to any kind of contact with their lekkus, which meant that right now she had to be in a state similar to ecstasy. He looked at her face and by the unfocused distant look on her eyes and the drool spilling from her mouth he was probably right.

00

Aspyre woke up again. She felt some pressure in her head, but nowhere near the excruciating levels she had experienced before. She turned her head and was surprised to find not Zaalbar, but Canderous sitting on the bed across from her.

"Well, look who finally awoke. You made quite a racket a few hours ago, kid" he said with a smirk on his face.

"_A few hours ago? Damn."_

"How long was I out?"

"Five hours, me and the wookie have been taking turns looking out for you, more than once you have tried to jump off the bed. You okay?"

"I will be, thanks. Are we three the only ones in the ship?"

"No, flyboy's kid and Mission are here too, but they locked themselves in the medical bay a few hours ago."

Aspyre raised an eyebrow when she heard Canderous calling Mission by her name, he hardly ever did that. Apparently one of the first things he had done was to make sure that everybody had nicknames, Mission was the runt, or the little blue runt, Bastila was the princess, Carth was either soldier boy or flyboy, Aspyre was usually referred by him as Venar, or kid, T3 was the tin can, HK he usually called rusted rod, and Zaalbar was… well Zaalbar, apparently Canderous respected the wookie warrior enough to call him by his name when he addressed him. She was about to close her eyes again when her brain finished processing the rest of his sentence, she sat up in a flash as her eyes darted open.

"THEY WHAT?"

"Hey relax kid, you are in no condition to be a mom right now. And besides as I said they have been there for at least four hours, what's done, done, makes no sense trying to stop them now."

"Why didn't you stop them?" she asked him, fully expecting something along the lines that it wasn't his problem or that he couldn't care less what the runt did, or who she did, but she was thrown off guard by his answer.

"Because I was looking out for you."

Aspyre felt her face turn a bright red and her blood pressure increase again, although no pain was registered this time. She swallowed hard a large amount of saliva that had inexplicably formed in her head and she thanked the heavens that her shaking hands were hidden under the covers.

"I… I… I…" she stammered, not being able to find the rest of the sentence in her brain. The amused Mandalorian lifted his eyebrows at the rather funny sight. The blonde girl was trying really hard to come up with something to say, but she 'I' was as far as she got.

"Well, it looks like you're fine now. If you come up with the rest of a sentence, I'll be in the main room, I'm starving" he said as he walked out the door. It took Aspyre a few more minutes to calm herself and make her face and blood pressure return to their usual levels. After she was certain she was no longer burning up, she stood up slowly and stretched her limbs. She felt her neck muscles protest when she turned her head and her ribs groan at her when she rotated her trunk, but after a few seconds she was good enough to walk. She took of the outer pieces of her armor in order to be more comfortable, those white plates were really digging into her skin. She took off her arm plates first, placing them on her bed. She took her chest plate off and let it fall to the ground, she was too tired to pick it up. She then sat down and removed her thigh and shin plates, moaning with pleasure as she felt her muscles relax from the pressure of her armor. She removed her undershirt and placed it in her bed as well. She stood naked in the middle of the room, feeling how the cool air of the ship surrounded her body. She grabbed one of Bastila's spare outer robes and threw it on, and making sure it was tied properly she headed for the medical bay.

She smiled to Canderous as she passed the main room and blushed only slightly. She turned left and walked down the hall, reaching the door that led to the medical room. She heard tiny noises coming from the other side of the door and for a second thought it would be best to just go back and let them be. After an extensive debate interrupted only by the faint noises coming from the other side of the door, Aspyre decided to wait until the noises stop, and then enter the room. She stood there for about twenty minutes, resting against the door, trying really hard not to picture the scenario going on just barely a few inches away from her. She heard an especially loud moan followed by a few seconds of silence. Deciding it was her chance, she stood up straight and bracing herself, knocked on the door a few times. She heard a loud yelp on the other side and the sound of something really heavy hitting the floor. Dustil's body probably. Deciding she had given them enough time, she used the Force to unlock the door and pushed the release button. The door slid open and she was greeted by a very recognizable smell, a naked Mission using her jacket to cover herself and a naked Dustil using his robe to cover himself, on the floor and rubbing his forehead where a large bump was starting to materialize.

"Aspyre! You're awake! That's great! How are you feeling? Are you okay? Are you sure you should be up? Shouldn't you be resting? Are you hungry? Why don't you eat something?" Mission said in her best machine gun speed voice. Aspyre leaned against the door and crossed her arms, looking at both of them much like a mother would look on her daughter if she… well if she found her having sex with a boy.

"You might want to keep it down, your moans woke me up I will have you know" she lied to them. Mission and Dustil blushed and Aspyre had to admit that they did look cute, but there was no way in hell she was going to admit that to them right now. "I hope it was worth it cause now, you are going to have to clean this mess" she said as she pointed to the large amount of fluids that were spread on the bed and the floor. "And you" she said as she pointed at Mission. "Are going to have to find some sort of explanation for Carth because he's probably going to come back in a few minutes."

"What? No Aspyre he can't find out!" Dustil blurted out.

"Oh, and why not?"

"Well… He have only have been together for a month and a half, I… I don't want him feeling like it was a mistake bringing me along" he said as he looked over to Mission with a concerned look on his face. Aspyre was touched at his sincerity and her face softened greatly. "I don't want him to think that I would be better in Telos. I… I don't want to leave."

Aspyre was silent as she thought for a second what to do. What harm could be done? Both of them were probably the only ones they had ever been with, so there was no chance of them getting a disease and Mission could not get pregnant from a Human, so what harm could come from this? She racked her brains for a while and the side of her mind that told her she had to tell Carth would have won, but a massive headache kicked in and she decided she was going to keep quiet in order to prevent it from spreading to the rest of her head.

"Fine, I will keep quiet about this. But please, clean this up and get dressed, the smell is so strong it's making me dizzy" she told them.

"Oh, you hypocrite the room smells ten times stronger when you're doing the same thing with Bastila!" Mission told her as she crossed her arms, lifting her eyebrows, Aspyre lifted her jacket and made it float over her head, forcing the surprised girl to cover her chest with her hands. "Hey that's not funny! Bring it back down!" she yelled at her as she exited the room. The jacket stopped hovering above her and landed on her hand. "Stupid Jedi."

_A few fun facts from this chapter:_

_The sternocleidomastoid is a muscle in the neck and while its ripping would not kill you, it would certainly hurt like hell :-)._

_The name for Aspyre Venar came from two sources, Aspyre came from the model of the computer I was using, an Acer Aspire One. And the Venar is an anagram from Revan (Yup, the Jedi Masters were pretty lazy, the bastards XD)._

_Like in Two and a Half Men, all my chapter titles come from quotes in the story._

_Thanks for reading, please tell me what you think so far, suggestions are appreciated and taken into account!_


	21. We Got A Situation Here

Chapter 21

_ Revan did not like Dromund Kaas. The entire planet was just jungle except for the Sith city. Had she been in charge she would have chosen a very different planet, but then again, she had not been alive when they had first settled here. She knelt down in front of her new master in the middle of the metal temple, feeling the heat from the midday sun creeping in every inch of it. Again, who had had the brilliant idea to build every single damn building out of metal in a planet that got up to 32 degrees in the middle of the day? She merely casted those thoughts away when her master started speaking, now was not the time for complains._

_ "It is your duty to find the Star Forge. This weapon of conquest will accelerate our revenge by centuries, and will allow us to crush the Republic, once and for all" the ancient emperor told her in the forgotten language of the Sith._

_ "Yes my lord. Where should I begin my search?"_

_ "In Dantooine, there is a temple, an ancient relic filled with Dark Power, find it and inside you will find the first locator that start you on your quest."_

_ "I will leave at once my master, should I take Malak with me as well?" she asked him, hoping she would receive a positive answer._

_ The Sith lord was silent for a moment as he explored her feelings towards him. Looking for something incriminatory in her thoughts, but Revan was good, she was very good and he only found wild, unbuckled passion for him, and that pleased the emperor._

_ "Yes. Make sure his presence does not prove to be a distraction for you, my apprentice" he told her carefully._

_ "Your wish is my command Master" she said, lowering her head even more so that it was ridiculously close to the floor. Without looking at him, she stood up and turning on her heels, went outside the temple and back to her ship, where Malak was waiting. As she walked outside and felt the wretched heat strike at her again, she felt her anger grow. Soon she would be able to strike back at the feeble Republic, soon she would be able to strike back at the foolish Jedi and soon Malak, her master and she would rule the galaxy, crushing the weaklings and bringing a new order that would last for a millennia._

_ "I can hardly wait" she muttered to herself with an evil grin as she climbed the mountain where her shuttle was waiting for her._

_ She arrived to her ship and immediately gave the order to jump to hyperspace as soon as they could. She left the bridge and went directly for her room, hoping to catch some sleep before some stupid idiot woke her up with some stupid triviality. They always did. She entered her room and locked the door behind her; she took off her cloak, her mask and threw herself down on her bed, hoping to fall asleep before that stupid communicator went off again. This however, she did not manage and she gritted her teeth as she reached for her comlink, flicking it on she spoke._

_ "Revan here" she said with a tired voice._

_ "How'd it go?" Malak's voice came from the other end as she rolled her eyes. Some stupid idiot indeed…_

00

Aspyre woke up, in her bed this time, and was surprise to find that she was alone. She stood up slowly and went to the main room, where she found Canderous watching one of Davik's old holos, this one was about something called a cowboy, that apparently could walk right into town and shoot the "bad guys" and then leave with his reward, something that really revolted Aspyre, but something Canderous wished he could do, no doubt.

"Hi" she said sleepily.

"Hey" he growled back at her.

"Where is everybody?" she asked.

"Princess and flyboy still haven't returned, Zaalbar went outside to make sure nobody was sneaking around the Hawk and the runts locked themselves up again."

Aspyre groaned with distaste.

"I thought they had stayed behind to look out for me" she protested as she sat down next to him in the table and watched how the "cowboy" stayed still with two other of them just standing still in the middle of what appeared like a cemetery, as Canderous snorted at her innocence. "What are they doing?"

"The runts or these guys?"

"These guys, I KNOW what they are doing" she told him with a smile on her face as she pointed to the med bay. She just hoped that Bastila and Carth had not been hurt; otherwise, they were in for a not so pleasant surprise.

"It's called a standoff, they wait to see who draws first and then they shoot at each other, last man standing wins."

After about a minute had passed, Aspyre felt like she could take no more.

"What's going on?" she demanded when she saw that the blonde cowboy, the fat ugly man and the black haired evil-looking cowboy stood still for what seemed like an eternity.

"It's to create tension" he explained to her as his eyes stayed glued to the holo.

"Well then they are really good at it" she muttered.

She watched as the trio stood still like they were carved in stone, and finally, finally the blonde cowboy shot the black haired one while the fat one looked rather surprised that his weird looking blaster had not worked. She blinked a few times in confusion, there had not been any blaster bolts, what had that been?

"What the hell did he fire?"

"They're called bullets. They don't exist anymore, even in the most primitive worlds, but before we had blasters, we had bullets."

"Oh" she said as she slid closer to him.

She saw the blonde cowboy aim the gun to the fat one while he screamed at him that he had sabotaged his gun and that he was a cheater, but the blonde cowboys merely smiled and told him to keep digging. The other one did so and after he had pulled eight bags of some golden bright metal, he aimed the gun at him again and told him to climb on a chair, where a noose was waiting for him.

"What's he doing?" she asked Canderous worried what the answer might be.

"You have to watch the whole thing to understand this part, long story short; he is going to shoot the rope to free him, like he did before. Why, I don't know, he should have let the bastard to rot there."

Aspyre nodded as her eyes returned to the screen and her body moved closer to him.

She kept watching the screen and she saw the blonde cowboy getting on his animal and riding away, leaving the poor fat one standing on the chair, trying very hard not to fall down or he would choke to death. Aspyre tensed as the seconds ticked on and the blonde man seemed even farther away and she unknowingly gripped Canderous' arm, which made him tense in return.

The two of them kept watching and Aspyre finally let out a breath she did not know she had been holding when the blonde cowboy shot the rope from far, far away, making the fat cowboy pummel to the ground, but he was on his feet in an instant, and he yelled at the blonde one, telling him that he was a… before switching to another language Aspyre did not understand, possibly to curse at him.

"What is that last word he said?" she asked him as she let his arm go.

"I don't know, I never known what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's an insult" he told her as he got up. Aspyre also got up too and headed back to the med bay, this time intent on getting them out of there before Carth arrived. Without knocking, she opened the door with the Force and surprised the pair, who looked at her with shocked eyes, but who were visibly relieved she wasn't Carth. Mission grabbed her jacket again and got off from on top of Dustil as the boy lifted his head to find out what was wrong. His face redden again when he saw Aspyre looking at the two of them and he grabbed Mission's pants to cover himself.

"Aren't you the busy Gizkas. You lucked out, can you imagined what would have happened if I had been Carth?" she asked the blushed couple. Dustil turned even redder and muttered something under his breath while Mission looked slightly more defiant and sat straighter as she addressed her.

"Well I don't recall you being my mother or anything like that, I am not a child and I can do whatever, or whoever I want! And I think it's very hypocritical of you to tell us we can't have sex while you go at it every night with Bastila!" she snapped at her.

"Ah. First of all we don't 'go at it' every night, we have to control our passions, something I think the two of you fail miserably at. And second of all, I can't tell you what to do, is that you're saying?"

The blue Twi'lek nodded at her and crossed her arms.

"Well, has it occurred to you that this is MY ship?" she told them with a pair of raised eyebrows. Mission looked rather surprised at her comment, and for a second she had no response to give her. She opened her mouth but not finding anything to say, she closed it again. "Exactly. So hurry up, get dressed, clean this mess and go play or something!" she ordered them as she poked her tongue out at Mission. A thought flashed through Dustil's mind, making him shiver.

_"__Has it ever occurred to you that sometimes Aspyre is very childish? During missions and in periods of stress she is very calm, controlled and serious, but when there are no threats, she seems even more immature than Mission?"_

Mission looked at her with her best we-were-already-playing-before-you-barged-in look and she slowly stood up and Aspyre turned around and left the pair alone.

"If they were both human we would already have a litter of them" she whispered to herself before she went back to her bed.

00

Bastila did not care much for environmental suits, they made her feel like she was helpless. Sure she could still use the Force, but there was no way she could grip her lightsaber with that huge monster-like glove, and despite using Force Speed to make herself go faster, she was still moving slower than what she usually did on dry land. She turned to her right and saw HK walking right beside her, his scanners checking for any threat signals before reporting them as 'terminated' to her. She walked over to the console and pressing a few buttons she started the program that would turn the gas inside the machine into liquid, and then make it blow up, but a large group of Firaxia approached her and she was forced to jump out of the way of their razor steel jaws. She saw HK turn around slowly and fire his sonic gun at the retreating group, hitting the last row and killing a few of them. Bastila used the Force to hold most of them on stasis while HK shot them quickly, and efficiently. After a few more shots, the sharks started to rise to the surface, their brain matter completely ravaged by HK's sonic gun. She continued with the program, but soon she found that there was no way she could proceed, the system was asking her for a password, and she didn't have it. She couldn't go back to those scientists and ask them what the password was, that would take hours, and she had had enough of Manaan and she wanted to get out as quickly as possible. Thinking it over a few times, she opened the hatch to the ventilation shaft and poured the black contents that the scientist had given her, hoping it would only kill the shark, and not damage the kolto. To her horror and eternal shame, the black thick liquid poured out of the ventilation shaft, and went inside the gills of the shark, which after a few seconds started squirming and died, but that was not what horrified Bastila, what shocked her was that the black liquid was swept away by the current of water and headed directly to the fault. The semi-white kolto that was rising to the surface turned a deep grey and then to black, and the amount that kept rising to the surface was very limited. The poison must have made the kolto thicker as well as compromised its integrity, just like the woman said! Turning around quickly on her heels, Bastila ran as fast as the stupid environmental suit would let her, calling HK to follow her. She arrived at the star map located on the other side and was immediately covered by its dark embrace. Shaking it off, she activated it and connected her datapad to it, transferring all the information to it. After she was done, she stood up and ran back towards the base. They arrived at the hatch and after the water was drained, they found Carth on the other side, standing over a small pile of dead Selkath.

"Looks like we hadn't gotten them all" he said with a grim smirk. Bastila nodded and the trio began to leave the cursed underwater base. They however did not arrive at their submarine because three men were standing in front of the door that led to it. Bastila felt the dark presence of the man in the middle and her hand immediately went for her lightsaber.

"Sith" she said grimly. Carth and HK both took offensive positions next to her and waited for her to make the first move. As they approached them slowly, the bald man in the middle spoke to her in a deep voice.

"At last my search is at an end. You may have defeated the useless bounty hunter, but you will not escape me, I have trained under the Dark Lord himself!" the man informed them as he turned on his double bladed red lightsaber. Bastila ignited hers and threw back her own insult at him.

"So, Malak doesn't have the strength to come and face me himself does he? He has to send his little Pet Hounds to do his dirty work for him?" she replied with a sneer.

"You're words mean nothing to me, unless you wish to beg for your life" he shot back.

Bastila jumped forward and using the same move she had pulled on Revan, she brought down her lightsaber with all her might on him. He parried the blow and jumped backwards, creating some distance between him and her. Bastila turned to her left and threw her lightsaber at the two thugs on his side and she flipped backwards to avoid the blasters being fired in her direction from the thugs in the right. She heard two shots being fired that collided with the temples of both men and they collapsed to the ground. Retrieving her lightsaber, Bastila saw Carth running towards her with the corner of her eye and HK on the other side. Carth dashed forward and jumped to the right, firing at the bald Sith in mid-air while HK barraged him with a volley of his own. The Sith jumped out of the way and went inside the hangar. Bastila cautiously stepped forwards and checked with her eyes. She saw nothing except the flicker of the dying lights and the steady glow of the light in the sub's cockpit.

Using the Force, she launched herself at full speed against the wall at the other end of the Hangar and flipped in mid air, turning her feet to the wall and kicking it off, dodging, just barely, the Sith's red lightsaber. She flipped again and landed in the middle of the hangar, as the Sith landed right in front of her and pressed his attack. She was forced in the defensive as the Sith gained ground, steadily pushing her against the wall for the next minute or so, he was in control, and Bastila did nothing but parry his blows. Before she connected with the wall itself however, a few bolts were heard and turning her head, she saw Carth shooting at the Jedi. The Sith jumped back to dodge the bolts, but he had not expected HK to sneak behind him and plant mines all over the walkway, and he stepped on one of them as soon as he landed. With not enough time to jump back up, the Sith lifted a mighty barrier before the mines went off and engulfed him in flames. Bastila shielded herself and Carth from the mighty flames and turning her head, she saw HK in the water, holding on to the railing in order to protect himself from the flames. After the blast died down, Bastila lowered the shield and walked over to the Sith. She turned on her lightsaber and kicked him on his chest, forcing him to turn around. The Dark Jedi turned and groaned with pain.

"Have you transmitted our location to Malak?"

"I will tell you nothing Jedi!"

"Have, you, transmitted, our location, to your master, dog?" she repeated as she pressed her foot against his chest, slowly applying pressure to the burnt area. The Sith moaned in pain but said nothing. Bastila stopped for a second, she couldn't do this. The Jedi did not torture their prisoners, not matter how important the information they had could be. But, what if Malak knew where they were? He could set a trap for them and then Aspyre… "Tell me what I want to know!" she screamed at his face as she pulled her fist back and punched him straight in the nose, breaking it and sending pieces of cartilage into his skull. Despite her best efforts, the Sith would not talk, and his mind was too well protected to break it. Gritting her teeth with frustration, Bastila did something she never thought she would do. "HK can you come here please?"

"Irritated Query: What do you want from me now meat bag?" he asked her as he stomped towards her, extending portions of his body in order to dry them.

"I need… I need to get information out of him. I need to know if Malak already know if we are here. Could you… could you help me?"

Had HK's eyes been able to shine they would have. The droid looked as humanly joyous as it was possible for a droid without a face and had it been in his programming, he would have surely clapped his hands with happiness.

"Amused Statement: I am surprised that you would ask me to torture this prisoner, I thought Jedi were peaceful, foolish beings."

"Please just do it" she muttered under her breath as she and Carth went to the sub.

"What are you doing?" he asked her once they were inside.

"What?"

"I know for a fact that you're breaking the Jedi code by doing that."

"We have no choice Carth. If Malak already know we are here, he could set a trap for us and we cannot allow him to succeed, the fate of the galaxy depends on our success. I cannot allow him to succeed, I cannot."

The pilot looked at her with concerned eyes but turned his attention to the control panel in front of him, he started up the engines, made sure the oxygen supply was high enough to get them to the surface, and waited for HK to come back.

After a few more minutes, the rust red droid entered the crowded cockpit of the covered in blood. Both Bastila and Carth looked at him with eyes filled with shock.

"HK… did you manage to make him talk?"

"Satisfied Response: Indeed I have meat bag. He said many things, although most of them where made up of a incoherent ramble. Extrapolation: It can be deduced that his lack of focus and concentration while speaking was caused by my most effective method of torture."

"Well… What did he say? Does Malak know we are here?"

"Response: He does not meat bag. He however, informed him that he was headed for Manaan a few days ago and that he would report tomorrow to him."

"We still have time, if we can get out of this planet before Malak realizes that something is wrong we might be able to make it to Kashyyyk unscathed. But I fear we might not be able to find the star map in secret with Malak actively on our tail. For now let us return to the Ebon Hawk, I want to check on Aspyre."

"Can't you feel her through the bond?"

"Yes, she has been sleeping a lot, and that is what worries me."

"Okay then. Let's go" Carth said as he turned submerged the submarine. With the corner of her eye, Bastila saw the remains of the Dark Jedi. He was twirling very slowly, like a pendulum, hanging from some kind of cable. She turned her head and feeling her lunch return to her throat, she saw what was holding him by his neck. Not a cable, but his intestines. Bastila had to take several deep breaths to stop the imminent spill of her stomach contents in the submarines floor, which would be very, very unpleasant for Carth and for herself.

00

Aspyre woke up after finally getting some restful sleep, she stretched her legs and arms with a huge smile on her face. Reluctantly, she got up and as she opened the door, she greeted Zaalbar, who was standing guard near her door. He acknowledged her and followed her to the main room, where she poured herself a bowl of soup and began eating with him.

"What time is it?"

"It is morning, you slept from yesterday afternoon until today, are you feeling refreshed?" he roared at her and she smiled in delight at being able to hear him without feeling like her ears were bleeding.

"Yes, I feel great actually. My head no longer hurts and my body is as fit as ever" she replied with a smirk.

"Then, I have some news you will find unsettling. Bastila and Carth have not returned yet. The Manaan authorities contacted us an hour ago. Bastila, Carth and your droid have been detained and are going to be trialed today in a few hours."

"What? What did they do?"

"They did not tell us, they only informed us that we had been granted permission to be present in the trial, it will begin in half an hour. Are you fit to travel?" he asked her.

"Yes, yes of course, give me a minute I will go get ready right away" she said as she stood up and headed for her room. "Wait, where is Canderous?"

"He has already left, he said he wanted to see, and I quote 'how the princess bored them to death with her speeches' and left a few minutes ago."

"And Dustil and Mission?"

At the mention of the boy's name Zaalbar grew rather upset.

"They are locked in the medical bay since yesterday, I wanted to go and rip the door open, but I could not leave you unguarded, I have failed you twice and I refuse to do so again."

Aspyre groaned and placed her head on her hands. Would those two ever stop? She walked to the medical bay and Forced the door open, revealing an exhausted Dustil and Mission who seemed like they had not slept all night. Mission laid on top of him and she looked more passed out than asleep her eyes not completely closed and large amount of drool falling on the bed next to Dustil's head. Dustil however, was still awake, but he seemed rather comfortable with Mission on top of him, and he was hugging her tightly against him.

"Dustil" she said softly. The boy almost jumped out of the bed when he heard his name, but grabbing hold of Mission's right head tail, he lifted it and peeked from under it, directly at Aspyre.

"Hi" he feebly said.

"How long ago has she been like that?" she asked, pointing to the passed out girl on top of him.

"Hum… I'm not sure, I can't have been more than an hour though."

Aspyre raised her eyebrows, she had to admire their endurance, they had been 'going at it' for the past 22 hours at the least and she had only recently passed out? Damn.

"We got trouble, wake her up and get dressed, I'll explain along the way. I mean it this time, Dustil, get up" she firmly told him, but the boy shook his head and pointed at the drooling Twi'lek on top of him.

Aspyre sighed and she walked over to them, trying as hard as she could to ignore the stench of bodily fluids and sweat that seemed to have filled the med bay. She very carefully lifted Mission's head tail and placed her lips very close to her ear, and taking a deep breath… she screamed as loud as she could.

"MISSION!"

Aspyre was sure that in the years to come, she would remember this moment and tell it to her children, to her grandchildren and if she was lucky, to her great-grandchildren, and describe it as the single most amusing moment in her life. Her voice must have been heard all the way down to the bar. The blue Twi'lek shook like she had been touched by electric wires. She screamed back at her and held on to Dustil tighter than if her life depended on it. Her eyes were absolutely filled with fear and her usually smooth blue skin had been filled with goose bumps. Slowly and taking sharp, short breaths, Mission looked directly at her eyes and managed to mouth a single word.

"Wh-wh-what?" she whimpered softly.

"We got a situation here, let's go" she said as she grabbed the girl's arm, which was, like the rest of her body, covered in a white liquid Aspyre tried really hard to ignore, and pulled her off the boy that by now she was practically glued to. Taking her through the garage, in order to miss Zaalbar's gaze, she took the naked alien to the girl's quarters and threw her on her bed, after which she cleaned her goo-filled hand on Bastila's robe before throwing it in a corner. She grabbed a pair of panties, a pair of black pants and a red shirt and threw them at the still shocked girl and ordered her to put them on. She them grabbed a white jump suit, placed her armor plates again and threw her white cloak on. She looked for her mask but did not find it, she kept looking for it desperately even after Mission was done dressing.

"What are you looking for?" she asked her quietly.

"My mask! I can't find it!" she responded, her voice filled with anguish.

"You didn't have it when I saw you in the Sith Base. It must still be there."

Aspyre turned to look at her, her eyes on the verge of tears.

"In… the Sith base, but… I need it! I… I-I… We have to get it back, after we get Bastila and Carth out of there, we have to go back to the Sith base and get it back!" She told the young girl, who looked at her like she was insane.

"Aspyre, we can't go back, you know that. They sealed the Sith base because of all the 'mysterious murders' if we try to go back inside they will surely arrest us" the girl said, being the voice of reason for the first time in her life.

Despite knowing that she was right, Aspyre muttered something about Canderous killing her, but dropped the subject. The two of them went to the main room and they found Zaalbar still there. He turned his head to greet Mission, but soon he wrinkled his nose and turned away from her.

"Mission! You have that child's stench all over you!" he said as he placed some distance between himself and the girl. Mission sighed and she hurriedly grabbed a couple of emergency bars, storing one in her pocket for Dustil and the three of them left the Hawk, but not before telling T3 to lock it and not allow anybody except them to enter it. Dustil joined them outside, wearing his only pair of regular clothes, a pair of red pants with dark blue shoes and shirt. The four of them quickly headed to the courthouse and after identifying themselves with the security guard, they entered it and found Canderous sitting on the farthest bench away from the judges and Bastila, Carth and HK 47 locked in force cages, while the judges angrily demanded to know why the kolto that was arriving to the surface was much less than usual, and why it was contaminated. Bastila simply insisted that she had acted out of the best interest for the Selkath, but when she told them she had introduced the toxin inside the ventilation system to kill the massive Firaxia shark, the judges went pale. They began talking amongst themselves and Aspyre took this moment to send soothing waves inside Bastila's tense mind. Bastila looked over at the crowd and found her and after waving to her, she turned to Carth who also seemed relief that his son was also there.

"You, human, how large was the shark?" the judge in the middle demanded.

"I do not know for sure, it has well beyond the size of that of a regular Firaxia shark, of that, I am certain" she calmly replied.

"It was the progenitor!" one of the judges exclaimed, but the rest told him to be quiet and deemed his claims as fairy tales and legends. They turned very angrily again towards Bastila and ordered that they were taken to be executed at once for their crime in poisoning the kolto from Manaan and treachery against the Manaan government.

"NO!" Aspyre, Dustil and Mission yelled. The judges turned their head towards them and ordered them to be silent. Aspyre saw how a group of combat droids turned off the force cages and dragged them away, taking them to the execution grounds. Aspyre reacted without thinking. She turned on her red lightsaber and jumped forward, cutting through the droids and severing their heads. She cut Bastila's and Carth's restrains and focusing with all her might, she placed all the security guards on stasis. Still maintaining her grip, Aspyre grabbed Carth and Zaalbar and used Force Speed to run away towards their ship as fast as they could. She saw Bastila behind her holding on to Canderous and HK, and Dustil had Mission on his arms while they were dashing through the city, racing against Aspyre's own strength. They were near the hangars when she had to let them go, and a few seconds later, the alarm sounded on the entire city, and the blast doors began to close. Aspyre dropped Carth and Zaalbar inside the hangar and told them to start the ship, she saw Dustil and Bastila do the same and the three of the ran towards the shield generators. They destroyed them and the shields dropped, but the blast doors where still closing, and the Ebon Hawk would not be able to take off. Using the Force, Aspyre crumbled the circuits leading to the right door and pushed it open, while Bastila and Dustil did the same thing with the left door. They ran back towards the Hawk and Dustil and Aspyre were back inside when they saw the door to the hangar open and a large group of Selkath officers aiming their rifles at them. She saw Bastila turn on her lightsaber and without hesitation, without remorse, without any doubts, she threw it at them. Aspyre felt her throat clench itself shut and her eyes widen to the point her view was distorted, but she still recognized the golden blade cutting threw the alien officers, taking them down like they were made of butter. She saw one of them run away in fear and she saw something that would haunt her till the day she died. She saw Bastila stopping him on his tracks and guiding her lightsaber at him, cutting him right in the middle. The golden blade returned to her and she entered the ramp, stopping only for a split second to look at Aspyre, who look completely crushed. Ignoring her for the moment, she yelled at Carth to take off and took the shocked girl to the main room, where she strapped her to her seat and grabbed on to the table as they took off.

00

"YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED THEM ALL! YOU KILLED THEM!"

Bastila tried really hard to calm her down, but Aspyre was so furious, so sad and so disappointed at her that she would not even listen to her voice, and was only punching her arms, stomach and chest in anger. Bastila herself could not explain why she had stopped the last one, the one that was running away.

_"He would have warned other guards and then you would have been forced to kill them too, this way there are less casualties."_

_ "Liar, you wanted to kill him, that's all there is to it."_

Bastila tried quieting her conscience, but she couldn't focus on doing that when Aspyre was punching her furiously and yelling at her directly in front of her face.

"You killed them! You killed them! Why did you kill them?" she kept asking as her strength faded away and her voice died down. Her punches lost their strength and her screams of anger turned to sorrowful weeps. Bastila herself started crying and they both fell to the ground, Bastila holding Aspyre tightly and Aspyre not having the strength to push her away. "Why did you kill them?" she asked her softly.

Had Aspyre not said anything, she would have been able to overcome what she had done. Had Aspyre in fact not seen what she had done, she would have managed to convince herself that what she had done was justified and she would have felt little remorse about it. But her voice, her innocence filled voice, her cute, tiny, precious voice was what completely crushed her, what broke her heart, what made her feel like she was worse than Malak himself. It was her childish desire to understand why somebody that was good had done a bad thing that wormed its way into her conscience, and made her want to kill herself.

"I… I don't know" she said between sobs. She held Aspyre even tighter, but the girl did the one thing that could make Bastila feel more miserable. She pushed her away, stood up and ran away from her, hiding her face in her hands and running towards cargo hold, which she locked behind her. Bastila felt broken, she felt as if Aspyre had taken a very large piece of her soul when she left, she felt… hollow. She stopped crying, she stopped feeling guilty, she stopped feeling regret about killing those Selkath. She felt… nothing. Nothing at all.


	22. My Young Meatbag Student

Chapter 22

"I really blew it didn't I?" Bastila asked in a low voice.

"Nah, that was a fine kill, besides he would have called more guards, it was much easier this way" Canderous replied to her while he was fixing his blaster cannon, without even looking at the devastated Jedi.

"Try telling her that."

"She'll come around" he said in a very uninterested tone.

"That's the thing, I don't think she will" she said sadly.

"What the hell do you want from me, princess? You did something that made Venar upset, deal with it! Why are you asking me about it? When did I become your damn counselor?" the Mandalorian snapped at her, whatever little patience he had gone. Bastila looked at him with heartbroken eyes and without saying a word she left the hangar, leaving him to work in peace. It had been two days since they left Manaan; they were headed back to Dantooine one last time before heading to Kashyyyk and finding the final star map. Aspyre and Bastila had not spoken to each other since she last yelled at the princess for killing the guard that was running away. It was strange not seeing her happy cheerful self, laughing at stupid jokes and making childish puns with Mission and playing around with her hair, Canderous had to admit, he had gotten used to seeing her around, and ever since she locked herself in the medical bay, nobody had seen her and she had only spoken when Canderous had gone to borrow a medpac yesterday. She had looked like hell, but he said nothing, thanking her and leaving her alone. But if Aspyre was bad, the princess was even worse. She had not showered, eaten, trained, meditated or lectured anybody in the past two days, spending most of her time sulking in the cargo hold. Mission and Dustil had been trying to cheer her up, but to no avail. She was a mess, her hair was no longer braid like it used to be, she had deep dark rings under her red swollen eyes, and she seemed to have lost most of her energy. But they had a mission to complete, and Canderous was damned if he was going to let those two slow him down. "I'll kill Malak myself if I have to" he grinned to himself as he closed his cannon with a snap.

00

"Aspyre, Aspyre please open the door" Bastila pleaded, resting her face on the cold white metal in front of her. "Please I need to talk to you, I need to hug you, please let me in."

"Go away" a tiny voice came from the other side. The must she had gotten out of her so far.

"Aspyre please, let me in" she pleaded, fresh tears forming in her eyes. She waited for some kind of response, but none came. She also tried prying through their bond, but Aspyre had firmly closed herself to all form of contact, and only Canderous had managed to get through to her. She silently cursed herself for not following the Jedi Code. Why had she allowed herself to fall in love? She was a Jedi! She should have been above that temptation… and yet, there she was, groveling like a spoiled child, begging for her to open the door. But she already knew she wouldn't open it. She slowly headed back to the cargo hold; there were still five more days to go.

00

Aspyre had cried herself to sleep for the seventh time in two days when a large shock threw her off the bed and she hit her head really hard against the metallic wall. Rubbing her head to ease the pain, she had a flashback of the Endar Spire and after considering it for a few seconds and feeling another wave rock the ship, she opened the door and went to the main room, where everybody was already assembled, even Bastila, who looked like she had been through hell and back. The older Jedi walked to her immediately, but she squeezed herself between Canderous and Zaalbar and turned her attention to Carth, earning a heartbroken look from her, who somehow managed to return her attention to the situation at hand.

"We've been caught in a tractor beam, the Sith were waiting for us in our hyperspace route" Carth informed her with a concerned face. "The ship that is pulling us in is _The Leviathan. _Karath's vessel."

"Karath? Saul Karath?" his son asked him with a burning glow in his eyes, that Carth also had. His father nodded and the boy pounded at the table in front of him. "That bastard! We have to kill him!" he yelled as Mission placed her hand on her shoulder and tried to calm him down, but to no avail. "If I see him I'm going to cut him in half and rip his heart out myself!"

"Proud Statement: It seems I have taught you well, my young meatbag student. That is something I would pay to see" HK told the boy, with what seemed to be pride in his photoreceptors.

"Never mind that now, we need a plan, they are going to board us in a few minutes and we need a way out of that ship" Carth interrupted the very strange conversation. "Bastila, Aspyre and I are going to be very heavily guarded, but they don't know how many of us are on board. One of us might be able to hide and free the rest of us."

"That is a very good idea, Carth, but who?" Bastila asked. "Getting to the rest of us will not be an easy task."

"I can do it, if you give me a shot to delay my healing implant, we can use a thermal detonator to make it seem like I got hurt fixing the ship, they will toss me somewhere and then I can heal and get the rest of you" Canderous threw in. Aspyre winced at the idea of him taking such a risk for them, but she thought for a second, he was right, what else could they do?

"Interjection: I believe it would be best to have me disguised master. I can slip past their defenses unnoticed and then I could proceed to blast them all! And go and rescued you, of course" HK told them. Aspyre's mind wandered for a second, there would be less of a risk with HK involved, after all if something happened to him, they could fix him, but what if he couldn't reach them?

"Why don't we do both?" Aspyre said out loud, all heads turning to her. "Canderous we can do your plan, dangerous as it is, and in the mean time, T3 can install HK with a backup chip to be activated after a few minutes, then we can deactivate him and the Sith will take him, then both of you can make your way to us!" She said as her face light with the idea. All heads nodded and agreed and they proceed to work on their plan.

00

They had not taken them without a fight. They had managed to repel the first boarding party efficiently, and it was not until they send the grenadiers that they were overwhelmed. Mission had been shot in the leg, and Dustil went to cover her, while Zaalbar ripped through their ranks, but he too was eventually brought down to his knees. Aspyre and Bastila had been the only ones still fighting, but when they had threatened them with killing their friends, they had been forced to surrender.

They were being kept in force cages, away from their friends, where they waited for the admiral himself to come speak with them, apparently, he had some questions.

"Carth, I see the years have not been kind to you, I hardly recognized you" a Sith officer said as he entered the torture chamber.

"But I recognize you Saul, I remember your face every night when I swear myself I will kill you for what you did to my home planet" Carth shot back at him with a face full of rage, and Aspyre was glad that Dustil was not here.

"You have changed, Carth. You used to be a man of action, not empty threats. But enough of this, I have some questions for you."

"I'm sorry, Saul but we are not going to answer any of your questions" Aspyre told him firmly.

"The Dark Lord will be here soon, he will no doubt torture you, to get information out of you as well as for his own twisted pleasure, but he will reward me for any information I can get out of you before he arrives."

"We will tell you nothing Saul!" Carth yelled at him.

"Yes, I am well aware where your loyalties lay Carth. But your friend's loyalty has proven… checkered in the past, perhaps she is more willing to tell me what I wish to know" he said as his eyes landed on Aspyre.

"I apologize; I don't know what you are talking about."

"I know full well that torturing you will get me nowhere, but perhaps, torturing your friends will have the desired effect" he said with a sick smile. Aspyre's eyes immediately widened and her jaw involuntarily fell open. Grinning evilly, Saul motioned to the Sith officer next to the control panel and soon waves of electricity travelled through their bodies, making them scream in pain. Aspyre hit herself against the force cage's wall, and she felt an even large amount of electricity traverse her body, burning her nerves and muscles. "Enough! I don't want them unconscious before I can question them!"

The searing agony stopped and Aspyre groaned in pain, barely able to stand. She figured he might keep torturing them later, so she took this opportunity to heal her body to the best of her ability.

"Now, for every question you chose not to answer, I will torture your friends. If you cooperate with me, then you will be spared" he told her simply, but she shook her head and gritted her teeth in pain. "Where is the hidden Jedi Enclave where you were trained?"

Aspyre remained quiet, looking at Saul Karath with her best gizka eyes, which seemed to work for a few seconds, but he turned his gaze to the soldier at the console and nodded. Flashes of light appeared and Carth's and Bastila's force cages began to send pulses of electricity down towards them, making them shake and scream in pain. Tears of frustration, sorrow and anger came to Aspyre's eyes and she yelled at Karath to stop, to let them free, to please stop hurting them as she banged the cage with her fists, earning short sharp shocks through her arms.

"Where is the hidden Enclave?" he asked her one more time. Aspyre tried to hold her tongue back, to not say the name of the planet he wanted, but the sight of Carth and Bastila, sweet cute Bastila being tortured was too much for her. And she had spent the last two days pushing her away, not wanting to speak with her. She had wasted the last two days she would ever spend with her and she pounded on the cage even harder.

"DANTOOINE!" she screamed as loud as she could, hoping that Saul would hear her over the screams. The admiral turned immediately towards the soldier in the console and ordered him to stop, and he did. "Dantooine."

"No! Why did you tell him?" Carth yelled at her with anger in her voice, but she wasn't playing much attention to their pilot, she was looking at the Jedi next to her, thrown in the ground, doing her best to stand up as her entire body shook.

"Very good, maybe now we can continue. That was of course, a test question. Lord Malak already knew the location of the academy. That is why Dantooine has been destroyed by our fleet, so don't count on any rescue coming for you."

"You… destroyed the entire planet?" Aspyre asked him weakly, to which the admiral grinned and nodded. "Like Taris?"

"Yes, just like Taris" the sick admiral told her as she fell down on the ground and began sobbing. Saul saw that she was broken and grinned; this was even easier than he had expected, and obviously the Jedi council did such a good job removing her identity they had made her very weak.

"You lie!" Bastila yelled at him, finally having summoned the strength necessary to stand.

"Believe what you wish" he told her coldly. "How were the Jedi planning on using you to stop Lord Malak?"

"Please, please, I can't!" Aspyre said between desperate cries of sorrow. The admiral lifted his finger and was about to order his soldier to torture her friends again but she stopped. "NO WAIT! Please… just don't" she told him as she stood up and faced him directly. "We were sent-"

"Tell him nothing!" Carth yelled at her, making her shiver, but she could not allow them to be harmed again, it would destroy her. She had no choice. Karath motioned to the soldier and he turned on only Carth's cage on for a few seconds, only enough to shut him up.

"Please don't! I'll tell you everything please, just don't hurt them!" she sobbed in her hands. Why was this happening? What had she done to deserve this? What had they done to deserve this? "Don't hurt them" she whispered.

"Then tell me what I want to know!"

"I don't know! Please! If I did I would tell you but please I don't know! They never told me!" she pleaded him, but the admiral did not believe her and he walked to the console and flipped the switched himself, sending Carth and Bastila into another fit of pain and agony. Aspyre cried with them, she yelled, pleaded to Karath to stop the torture, but he simply gave her a cold look. "Please stop! Ask me anything else! I will tell you! I will tell you! Please, stop!"

"Fine, answer the next question and I will turn stop. On what mission where you sent by the Jedi Council?"

"Please stop! I… I" she stammered.

"Answer me!"

"The Star Forge!" she yelled as loud as she could. "Please turn the cages off! Please I beg of you! I will answer anything else, but please turn them off!"

The admiral stood still as he processed her words and after a few more questions he turned them off, stopping the screams of pain that echoed throughout the room. He walked slowly towards her, stopping when he was mere centimeters from her crying face.

"The Star Forge? Have you found the maps?" he asked her with a cautious and curious look, and after taking a deep look at Carth and Bastila, she covered her face with her hands and nodded furiously at him, trying really hard to keep her shaking under control, and failing miserably. "Which Star Maps have you found?"

"Tatooine… Manaan… Korriban… and… Dantooine" she said between sobs.

"Do you have some sort of escape plan?" he asked her and she replied without any resistance whatsoever.

"Our assassin droid, he is coming to rescue us" she told him weakly, every word she spoke layered with shame and regret.

"Interesting… most interesting. I will tell Lord Malak at once. Thank you… Aspyre, they call you now? Interesting choice for a name" he told her with a sneer. She removed her hands and looked at him, confused. What did he mean with "now"? She had been always called Aspyre, had she not? No, of course she was. She had always been Aspyre; her mother had chosen that name herself. What could he possibly mean? She was about to ask him what was he talking about when he turned around and flipped the switch back on as he was leaving the room, turning all three force cages to their maximum power, leaving Aspyre, Carth and Bastila screaming as he shut the door.

00

Canderous woke up, feeling very tired and hurt all over. His body had scorch marks that were beginning to slowly disappear. Without making a sound, he slowly opened his eyes and turned his head, making sure that he was completely alone. He sat up, gritting his teeth and pulling his legs to one side. The grenade had hurt him more than what he expected. He had calculated he would be fully healed by now, but by his calculations, it would take him a few more minutes to be back to his full strength. Hopefully HK would be operational by now. Getting up as fast as he could, he grabbed his repeating rifle cannon and pressed the bright blue release button next to the door. Five very closely formed soldiers turned around, surprised when they saw the Mandalorian they thought was dead standing up, very much alive and holding a very, very big blaster cannon and pointing it at them. Just as the first one started moving his rifle, Canderous squeezed down on the trigger and fired a very large amount of bolts towards them, scorching the walls and the floor around them, and mercilessly massacring them. The five dead bodies fell to the ground, their corpses riddled with blasters bolt holes. Making sure there were no other soldiers, Canderous began dragging his battered body down the hallway, trying to find some map or something that would tell him where the rest of his crew were.

00

After making sure that the 17 hostile readings that his photoreceptors had indicated him where directly in front of him were dead, HK proceeded to hack into the nearest terminal and search for his captured master. He quickly found that she was being held in the detention block C and he headed there immediately, wishing with all the strength his circuits could muster that he would encounter many more Sith meatbags to kill.

00

Aspyre woke up, heavily disoriented and in an incredible amount of pain. She started crying as soon as she regain consciousness and made a few feeble attempts to stand up, but her legs were burnt so badly she could not even move them.

"Careful, don't try to get up. They kept torturing us long after we passed out, but you got the worst part, by far" Carth informed her as she opened her eyes and scanned the room she was in, trying to remember what had happened.

"I can't believe that man, he was such a monster. Are you alright?" A concerned Bastila asked her, and Aspyre merely shook her head. Of course she was not alright, she could not even move her legs! "It was a shame you could not resist his interrogation, I fear our mission might have been compromised" she regretfully, but not reproachfully told her.

"I'm sorry, Bastila, but I'm not strong like you. The second he hurt you… I wanted to tell him everything, I would have gladly told him everything I knew to keep him from hurting you, but he… he lied to me" she said as her eyes started to water again.

"Don't beat her up about that Bastila, Karath already knew the answers to our questions, he just wanted to torture us, the sick pig" Carth told them with disgust in his voice. "The second I get out of here I'm hunting him down."

"Don't let your revenge get in the way of our get away, it's bad enough I told him about HK coming here, we don't need any more setbacks if we want to live" Aspyre told him weakly.

"I can't believe Dantooine is gone. I grew up in that place, and now it's destroyed" Bastila said, her head hanging low in sorrow at her loss. Aspyre looked at her and her heart went out to the poor Jedi girl. Every single person she knew except for her crew mates had been killed.

"I'm sorry, Bastila" Aspyre spoke softly, pulling the Jedi girl out of her inner misery. "For everything. If I had known this was going to happen, I would have never wasted my last two days like that. In case we die here, in case I never see you again. I just want you to know that I love you… I really and truly love you."

"I love you too Aspyre. No matter what happens I always will" Bastila told her after a long silence. The two girls stared at each other for a long time, trying to memorize each other's face. They heard a lot of blaster fire from the other side, and a few grunts and screams and their lock broke. The metal door opened and they half expected a Sith soldier that would continue their torture, and instead they were greeted by the tired face of Canderous Ordo and HK-47.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I am so glad to see you, Canderous" Carth happily stated.

"Same here soldier boy, good to see you and princess are still in one piece" he told them as he dragged himself to the console and turned off the cages. "Venar, I knew you would be fine."

"Hi, Canderous" she weakly greeted him with a small smile. "Thank you for saving us, I don't know how much longer w e would have lasted here. Would you mind helping me up?"

Canderous took her right arm and without so much as a grunt, he pulled her to her feet with one move. The Mandalorian walked over to the console again and opened the rooms that held Mission, Dustil, T3 and Zaalbar and the six of them went to get their supplies. Mission helping the very weakened Aspyre. The Twi'lek placed her in a bench while she went to get her gear, and Bastila knelt down next to her and placed her hands on her body, sending waves of healing energy to the best of her ability and making Aspyre feel much better.

"Thank you" she told her as she caressed her soft cheek. Bastila grabbed her face and firmly pulling her towards her, she kissed her deeply. As if it was their last kiss, as if they were about to die, which was a very probably outcome. They kissed passionately for a long time, until Carth's coughing brought them back to the harsh reality of their current situation.

"We have to get out of here. The Ebon Hawk's in the hangar, but the tractor beam is still on. Unless we take it out, there's no leaving this place."

"Let's split up, Carth, Aspyre and I will head to the bridge in order to turn off the beam, while the rest of you go to the hangar and secure our vessel" Bastila told all of them. Dustil, T3, Zaalbar, HK, Mission and Canderous nodded and began making their way to the main elevator, while Aspyre walked to the locker where they had placed her things. She pulled out her black jumpsuit and placed it in, zipping it all the way up. She grabbed her white arm bracers and strapped them on, making sure they were completely secured. She fastened her thigh and shin coverings and placed her shining white chest plate. She pulled her cowl over her head and for the second time since she lost it, she mourned for her mask. Lamenting her loss but not letting it get the best of her, she turned around and faced Bastila and Carth, who also were ready to go.

"Let's go."

00

The bridge elevator was only a few feet away, most of the Sith troopers were dead at their feet, and the few that were still fighting soon were on the defensive. Bastila and Aspyre twirled their lightsabers, blocking any incoming blaster fire and protecting Carth while he hacked the computer. Aspyre made sure that his right flank was fully covered, twirling her blades in a sea of red and blue, while Bastila's yellow, blurry, round shield protected his left.

"There!" he yelled as he managed to open the lock after struggling with it for a few minutes. The three of them entered the elevator and quickly pressing the button that took them to the bridge, the doors shut and the elevator began to rise quickly. "I have a feeling Saul will be waiting for us in the bridge."

"Carth… Sir. It is not my place to tell you what to do, but please. Don't let your anger get the best of you, please" Aspyre begged her commanding officer with tired eyes. Carth however, simply readied his blasters and aimed them at the door.

The metal doors opened and just as Carth had predicted, Admiral Saul Karath was waiting for them, two Dark Jedi next to him and six more troopers fortifying his position.

"I should have known" he told them with disdain. "But you are too late, I have already contacted Lord Malak, he will be here in a few minutes and you will be doomed!"

"You will be dead before that!" Carth shot back, aiming his blasters at the Sith soldier behind them and shooting two bolts at him, both hitting him straight in the chest and killing him instantly. He turned and dropped to the ground, dodging the bolts fired at him by the second soldier as he fired back, killing him too. He turned around and saw Bastila and Aspyre fighting the Dark Jedi, and easily overpowering them. He focused on the remaining soldiers and soon enough, only Karath was left standing. He dropped his blaster in surrender, but Carth would have none of that, and mercilessly lifting his blaster at the helpless man, he fired, hitting him in the stomach, and sending him crumbling to the ground just as Aspyre turned around and caught sight of what he had done. Without a word, he turned around and turned off the tractor beam. "It's done, let's go!"

Just as they were about to leave, he heard a tiny cough behind him. He turned around and saw Karath, still alive, and calling him with his weak voice. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out his vibroknife and headed his way, before Aspyre stopped him.

"No, please, sir! You're better than that! You're better than him!" she pleaded, but he pushed her away.

"Don't you know what this man has done to me? The hell I have endured because of him? I have to do this!" he yelled at her. Turning around, he walked over to Karath and was tempted to kick him in the face right where he was, but something told him he should listen to his dying words before he drove his knife in his mouth.

"Come closer… Carth" he spluttered between coughs. "I have to tell you…"


	23. Not Even Real

Chapter 23

Carth paled to the point his face was whiter than the freezing snow plains of Hoth. The hand holding his knife shook and he almost dropped it, but he somehow managed to keep his hold on it. Karath said something he did not even listen nor paid attention to. Lifting his hand as high as he could, he brought down his vibroknife into the body of his former mentor, cutting right through his flesh and piercing what remained undamaged of his lungs. He saw his eye go wide with pain and he tried to say something, but only blood sputtered from his mouth. He wanted to stab him again, to inflict more pain on him before he died, but closed his eyes and did his best to keep his head up, but the last of his strength failed him, and Saul Karath was no more.

"Damn you! Damn you Karath!"

"What did he say?" Aspyre carefully asked him, doing her best to keep her shock and fear out of her face, scared to anger him even more. He turned around, but instead of answering her question, he ignored her and faced Bastila with a blazing fury in his usually calm and controlled eyes.

"Bastila! You-you knew about this, didn't you? You and the whole damn council!" he screamed at her.

"Carth I… please now is not the time! I can sense Malak's presence getting closer to us, please we have to go!" she told him with pleading eyes. Aspyre was even more confused, what had Saul told Carth? "I will tell you everything, but later! If we stay here Malak will find us!"

"Please, Carth! We have to go, if Malak finds us, he will kill us! Please Carth, we have to go! I don't know what Karath told you, but don't let your anger blind you! Please let's go!" she pleaded desperately, hoping to reason with the soldier inside him.

"Fine! I'll trust you for now, but I want answers the second we leave!" Carth told her firmly.

"Yes, of course" she reassured him and the three of them turned around, running out of the bridge and towards the hangar.

It was a straight run, without any troops blocking their way or slowing them down. Carth looked as grim as a person could look, furiously wishing that there was something that he could shoot at, but his wishes were not met, and their path remained free of any interference. Aside from Canderous informing them that they had taken the Hawk and were waiting for them, there was complete silence between the three of them, something that worried Aspyre very much. But what really worried her was Carth, he looked so furious, so angry, so frustrated, it scared her. He looked even worse than he had before he had killed Admiral Karath, what he had said had gotten to him, disturbing him greatly, but what was it? What could he have told him that made him worry so much? That made him so angry? Her mind was worried with the possibilities running through her brain that she barely noticed that they had descended into the second floor and where heading to the hangar. That is, until she saw the door in front of them open and a massive figure step forward. The man stood well over 6ft, probably 7ft. He was so tall and muscular he made Aspyre feel small and weak, and for the first time since she could remember, she felt like a helpless child. His head was completely bald with blue tattoos covering it and his yellow eyes bore into hers like blaster fire burning through flesh. But it was his mouth what deeply disturbed her, or rather, his lack of one. A large metallic device was strapped to his lower jaw, taking the place of what used to be his mouth, giving him such an evil looking appearance that Aspyre shivered at the sight. Who was he?

"Darth Malak" Bastila spit out with contempt. Aspyre eyes went wide open and she felt fear crawling through her bones and muscles, almost making her fall to the ground, but she somehow managed to stay on her feet. Carth pulled out his blasters and fired five times at Malak, faster than Aspyre had ever seen him fire, but the Sith Lord blocked his shots and pushed him to the ground, with a metallic voice that send even more shivers down Aspyre's spine.

"When Karath informed me you where here, I could not believe my ears, but seeing you in front of me, there is no denying it" he said, not to Bastila, like Aspyre initially thought he was, but to her. Darth Malak was talking to _her_.

"M-me?" she weakly asked him, pointing at herself with her index finger.

"It seems that fate has reunited us… Not even the combined might of the entire Jedi council could keep you down, you were much too powerful for them to drown your true identity" he told her with what could have been a sneer, if he had a mouth to sneer at her with. Confusion overcame her fear, and she stayed still, waiting for him to explain. Keep her down? What was he saying? Nothing made sense anymore.

"What do you mean?"

"The history between the two of us in much too strong, this reunion was long overdue!"

"History? I… I've never seen you before in my life!" she said, growing more and more confused with every word he said. She felt a small headache starting to grow on the back of her head, slowly creeping and covering her entire brain. She closed her eyes and shook her head, and when she opened them she found Malak staring at her, a look of surprise in his eyes.

"You… You don't remember don't you?" he asked her, and when she did not answer him, he burst into laughter, a cold, evil laughter that resounded through the metal halls and pierced her ears. "This is too good! You the great master, turned into a helpless child! Oh, if only I could thank the council for the amusement they have provided me!"

"I… I don't understand! Bastila what is he saying?" she asked her, but the Jedi girl was gritting her teeth, looking at Malak with murder in her eyes.

"Allow me to explain, my dear friend" he slowly spoke, spitting out every word, sounding very real to her ears. "The persona that the Jedi council has given you, the life they have forced you to live is not yours, what was the name they gave you? Aspyre was it? Aspyre Venar, right? I would gladly spit in their feeble effort if I still had a mouth to spit with. Venar… the idiots. That is not your name, your true name" he told her as he narrowed her eyes. Her head was pounding, blinding her senses, clouding her sight and made her fall to the ground on her knees, she held her head in her hands and gritted her teeth, desperate to end the assault on her brain and focus on Malak. "No… you remember. You cannot deny what you are, what you really are, you cannot deny who you once where and who you still are… Revan!"

00

Aspyre screamed as loud as her vocal cords would allow her to. She yelled at everything around her, trying to ease the pain that had taken her, that was threatening to destroy her sanity. She held her head as she felt how the pain grew, how a name kept banging on the inside of her head, how a name kept repeating itself over, and over, and over until it was the only thing she could hear.

_"Revan, Revan, Revan, Revan, Revan, Revan… __Revan!" _the voice inside her head screamed at her, beating her mercilessly with its sonic assault, threatening to melt her brain and drive her insane.

"What is that? Why are you saying that?" she yelled at the voice, trying to understand, she couldn't understand, nothing made sense, what was going on? Where was she? The onslaught stopped and she lay still for a second, trying her best to keep her fear under control, she opened her eyes, and screamed in horror at the sight before her. "No! No! Please not again! No!" she yelled at the horrible white room that surrounded her, her cursed prison, the one place she could no longer stand being in, the one place that she'd rather die than be trapped in again.

"I want my body back" a soft voice told her. Opening her eyes she turned around and with eyes filled with terror, she saw the other Aspyre, her clone, her other self, her source of shame, and her worst nightmare.

"Why am I here?"

"I already told you, child. You have held on to my body for far too long, I want it back."

"But this is mine! Why do you want to take my body away from me?" she asked her as she backed fearfully into a corner. "Please, don't take it away from me."

"It is not yours, it was never yours, why can't you understand that, you stupid, stupid child!"

"I… I don't get it! Please, I don't understand!"

"Of course you don't. Maybe a walk down memory's lane will help you understand?" she told her, and kneeling down, she pressed her hand on her forehead, pressing down on it, hard. Aspyre groaned as she felt her head start throbbing again, and flashes of her past began to appear in front of her eyes, despite the fact that they were closed.

_"The Jedi do not believe in killing their prisoners. Nobody deserves execution, no matter their crimes" Bastila told her when she had asked her about her mission to capture Revan._

_"The council would normally not accept an adult for training, but this is a special case" Master Zhar told her when he informed her of her special situation._

"_I've heard that the Force can do terrible things to a person, it can erase your memory, and wipe your identity away" Carth told her, warning her to be extra careful when they left their apartment in Taris._

_"What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? To use their own knowledge against them?" Bastila asked her rhetorically in the plains of Dantooine, in response to Aspyre's question about the Jedi council, the Force, and the perils of the Dark Side._

_"The lure of the Dark Side is very hard to resist. I fear this quest for the Star Maps will lead you down an all too familiar path" Master Vrook told her with a very worried and disapproving look in his face._

_"Tatooine" Bastila's voice rang through her head as she remembered the location of the Star Map deep inside the cave._

_"Kashyyyk" she heard in her mind as the black petal opened in the Shadowlands._

_"Manaan" she was informed as she saw the sunken Star Map revealing more of the route to the Star Forge._

_"Korriban" she heard Bastila's voice softly speak to her as she recalled the Star map in the horrible tomb of Naga Sadow._

_"Revan and Malak visited all these planets in the hope of finding clues that would lead both of them to the Star Forge."_

Aspyre gasped as she returned back to the white room, the evil Aspyre looking at her with a wide, pleased grin on her face. She stood up and looked down at the tiny frightened girl cowering in fear in the corner.

"Revan?" Aspyre weakly asked her.

"Nice to meet you Aspyre, my name is Revan" she told her with an evil snarl.

"But… But I… You're dead" she said with shock in her face.

"Not really" she told her as she roughly pulled her up and pressed her forehead against her, her sick yellow eyes boring into her bright blue. "It's time for me to get my body back, you have been playing around with it for a very long time, and it's not really yours, is it?"

Aspyre felt her windpipe close as Revan's grip on her throat tightened, but how could she fight back? It was true… it wasn't her body, it was hers. It was rightfully hers and she had no right to steal it from her, she couldn't steal, her mother… Her mother… Her mother was not real… her life was not real… was it? Were her memories real? Her father? Her mother? The accident they had? The life she had after they died? Her accident in Manaan? Was that real as well? Or had the council made it up? What was real in her life? Did she even have a life before the Endar Spire? Was the Endar Spire real? Or was she imagining that as well? Was Trask…? Aspyre started crying, her wet tears falling into Revan's hand. What could she trust? Her memories were unreliable, Bastila had lied to her, her companions were cold blooded murderers, the Sith army wanted to kill her, she had no friends. She was alone… and she was not even real.

"I don't want to live" she whispered with the last of her breath into Revan's face.

"That can be arranged" she said as she lifted her higher and smashed her head into the wall. She threw her to the ground and kicked her in her face, breaking her nose and ripping her cheek open. She grabbed her by her robe and grabbing hold of her arm, she twisted it around, and with a swift punch, she broke it, a sickening sound filling her ears. Aspyre let out a scream of sheer suffering that seemed to please Revan, making her bite her lip in pleasure and punch her again in her back. "Time for your artificial, pathetic existence to come to an end, child. I'm going to kill you and regain control of my body, and take what is rightfully mine from that pathetic coward!" she yelled as she kept punching her back and neck.

As Aspyre laid on the ground, her arm broken and her body being crushed by Revan's fist, she realized something. Revan was evil; she wanted to bring nothing but pain to the galaxy, she would hurt innocent people, she would kill them, for her pleasure. That was something she could not allow. That was something she would not allow. She was not real, but she had been created by the Jedi Council as a way to redeem the former Sith Lord. She had been manufactured as a way to find the Star Forge and destroy it. Revan's sins were not hers; Revan's actions were not hers. The punishment that Revan deserved was not hers to bear, but it had been placed in her shoulders, and to shrink from that responsibility would be to turn her back on the galaxy, and that, she could not do. It did not matter if it was her choice to help others or if the Council had made her like that, she had no choice, she could not stand by and watch innocents get hurt when she could do something to stop it. She could not watch by as a destroyer of worlds tried to free herself back to the galaxy. It was up to her to stop her; if she failed then the galaxy would suffer for her it. She did not want to live anymore, but it was not her choice, she wanted to die and fade back into the obscurity from where she had been created, but she could not do that. She had a responsibility, a responsibility she had not chosen, a responsibility that by no means was her duty to carry, a responsibility that by no means was fair, but it was hers and hers alone. It did not matter how badly she wanted to die and forget everything that she knew, she could not… at least not yet.

"You can't leave" she said through gritted teeth. Revan stopped her assault on her and moved her head closer to her, unsure of what she had just heard. "You can't leave. You can't leave; I won't let you be free again. It doesn't matter if this is your body, you don't deserve it. You have brought a great evil to the galaxy, and it's my job to make it right. And if I want to make it right, then I need this body. You can't leave this room; you can never leave this room."

"You can't! This is my body! Not yours! You have no right! You-"

"You had no right to kill all those people! To destroy all those worlds! To hurt so many! What you have done… it kills me, I can never begin to undo the wrongs you have caused, but I can prevent you from causing more! You… can't… leave" she said firmly as she stood up and closed her eyes. She had to escape, Revan could not leave this place, she would never forgive herself if she did, she had to escape. She had to escape, right now…

00

Malak looked down at his former Master, a shadow of what she used to be, the tiny girl was crumbled in the ground, having fainted when he had spoken her name, it had been only a few seconds, but Bastila was already at her side, trying to wake her, while the man, probably Onasi, seemed confused on what to do. He narrowed his eyes as he looked again at his former lover. Her hand moved, it twitched. Her leg shuddered and kicked wildly at the air once. Her chest began to rise up and down with the rate of her rapidly increasing breathing. Her eyes began to flutter and her entire body began to shake, like if she was being forced from the inside. Malak saw as the shaking got worse and it seemed like she was going to break her bones against the steel floor. Bastila pleaded her, tears in her eyes to wake up, truly pathetic. And as soon as the shaking started, it stopped. Her eyes darted open and she jumped up, her bright blue eyes staring back at him, with a focus they seemed to be lacking before she fainted.

00

"You remember" Malak told her softly.

"She showed me…" she shot back at him.

"I knew there was no way for the council to erase you, Revan."

"Revan is being quiet like the good girl she is, my name is Aspyre Venar, created by the Jedi Council eight months ago, for the sole purpose to find the Star Forge, and stop you. And that is what I am going to do" she told him firmly. The Sith lord seemed unimpressed by her words, ands he turned around and faced Bastila with a somber look on her face. "You lied to me. I don't know if that is some part of Revan's personality or if it's part of what the council did to me when they created me, but I cannot forgive you for what you have done to me" she told the Jedi, who looked like she had just taken a blaster bolt to the heart. "I should have never fallen in love with you. All the time we were together, I told you everything that the council implanted as a memory, my most private thoughts, my feelings, and you never told me, you betrayed my trust, you lied to me, Bastila Shan."

Bastila had looked downright miserable when Malak walked into the room, but now… well, there were no words in Basic to describe how she looked. She dropped her lightsaber and took a step back, her head shaking with fear and denial, until she hit the metal wall behind her. Ignoring the tears forming in her eyes, Aspyre turned back to Malak and took out both of her lightsabers.

"Darth Malak, I have been ordered to stop you. By the authority vested in me by the Jedi Council of Dantooine, I place you under arrest, you are to drop your weapon and come with me to Coruscant to face judgment for your crimes against the Republic and her citizens. Come quietly or I will be forced to subdue you, and I _will_ subdue you" she spoke with a voice nobody had ever heard before, a determination she had never displayed, and a strength that made her look more menacing than the Dark Lord himself.

"A part of me always regretted betraying you from afar. I have always known that there are those under my rule that consider me a coward, that thought I was not strong enough to defeat you. But now, fate has given me a second chance. After I kill you and take your head to my flagship, nobody will ever question my authority, ever again!" the Sith lord said, ignoring her order and drawing his weapon. Aspyre shook her head in disappointment. Nobody ever listened. Nobody ever, ever listened to her! It was like they wanted her to kill them... idiots. Gritting her teeth she pressed both ignition buttons on her lightsabers and her blue and red blades emerged from the metal cylinders.

"You have never betrayed me, Revan is locked away and you will never face her in combat. You are going to fight me, Aspyre Venar, not you old Master" she told him with a sneer as she added. "She is more than strong enough to toss you aside like the rag doll you are, but if I let her fight, she is going to kill you, and I'd rather take you back alive."

All three of the people surrounding her were taken aback by her boldness, something she had never displayed before, at least as Aspyre Venar. She moved before any of them could react, rushing forward towards the Sith Lord, crouching and dodging his wide slash, she jumped up with all her might, and kneed him directly in the stomach, sending him down to his knees with a sick thud before she Force pushed him against the metal door behind him. Without waiting for him to move or say anything, she rushed forward again and kicked him on his side, sending him sprawling against the ground, bashing his head against the steel floor and opening a small wound on the side. Doing a quick somersault, she flipped back to where the shocked Bastila was under cover from Carth's blaster fire, evading Malak's furious strike easily. She turned her head and saw the shaken Bastila on the ground, shaking with her sight lost in space. She turned her head back and saw the red blade headed her way, she lifted her blue lightsaber and managed to stop it, but Malak was so strong that it made her arm shake and she almost lost her grip on her weapon. He started pushing her back, with a look of pure rage in his eyes. He hacked and slashed with very wild, amateurish strikes, but his sheer strength made it very difficult for her to strike back or take the offensive, and he steadily pushed her backwards towards the elevator. She realized that she would not be able to win in a fair fight, he was a better duelist than she was, her small size, her speed and her stronger affinity with the Force was what would help her win this fight. Focusing as much as she could, she managed to place Malak's arm on stasis for the briefest of moments, and she took full advantage of it, sneaking around him and kicking him in his knee, forcing down on his knees again and rushing back to where Bastila and Carth were waiting for her. She turned to face them and complain that they were not helping her, and she found out that the two of them were frozen in stasis. The realization made her gasp, Malak had been holding them in place while he was fighting her! The fact that he could do that and focus on their fight meant that he was very, very powerful with The Force as well, probably more so than her. Gulping down the rising fear in her throat, she figured it was better if she used this to her advantage, as long as he held them in place, he had to split his attention, and she could deal the most amount of damage to him, she had to hurry before he decided it was best to drop the stasis field and fight the three of them, because then they would be in trouble for sure. Twirling her blades, she rolled back and laid flat on the ground, just in time to dodge Malak's rushing swipe and pressing her feet against his chest, sending him flying above her, crashing back against the metal door. Shaking his head, he focused on her and sent a large wave towards her, sending her flying back.

As she stood up, she caught sight of his cloak willowing as he crossed the right door, running away from her. He could not escape her, if she caught him, then she would be able to stop the war, the Sith would have to surrender, she wouldn't have to find the Star Forge, it would be all over, and she would be able to turn herself in to the authorities and once she was in a force cage, she would give Revan back her body, so that _she _could face trial for what she had done. She ran towards the door and crossed the quickly, and found the hallway deserted, but she could still feel Malak, his dark presence contaminated the entire ship, she could feel him parsecs away. She turned around and tried to open the last door, but found it locked. She smiled as she sensed Malak's presence on the other side and without delay, she stuck her blades on the door, quickly and efficiently cutting through a large hole.

She stepped in and saw Malak, with his eyes closed, closing the wound on his head. She twirled her blades to announce him she was there and he turned around, lightsaber in hand and his wound completely healed.

"You are no match for me, Revan, and now I will crush you like the insect you are" he told her as he adopted a defensive pose and waited for her to strike.

"Yes, I'm sure those first blows you were just healing were simply beginner's luck."

He fell for her taunt and he recklessly charge towards her, using the Force, she jumped straight up, did a quick flip, placed her feet in the ceiling and pushed herself off, swiping at Malak as she did. Malak raised his weapon and blocked her attack, but she had flown down towards him with too much momentum, and she managed to force him down to his knees for the third time. Still keeping the pressure on, she landed on her feet and kicked him on his metallic chin, sending him stumbling back on the ground. Not waiting for him to make his move, she pushed him back and made him hit his head against the wall, hard. He gritted his teeth and roared in anger at her. He stood up and threw a bolt of lightning at her, which she easily dodged. Spreading his ten fingertips, he unleashed a volley of bolts towards her, trying to get her to submit, but her lightsabers absorbed much of the energy, and she did something she had not done in quite a while, she started to absorb the energy Malak was throwing at her. The Sith Lord's eyes widened when he realized what she was doing and he stopped his assault, narrowing his eyes in anger at the newly renewed girl.

"As I said, I _will _subdue you, surrender and your pain ends right now" she told him firmly. Malak sneered at her and twirled his long red lightsaber, mocking her to come forward and attack him, but she was beyond such petty tricks and she waited for him to attack.

Before she had a chance to counter attack, Malak used the Force to push her backwards, intent on sending her crashing against the metal wall like she had done to him so many times, but she was better than him, and she Force pushed herself down and neatly crossed the hole she had created in the wall. The furious Sith Lord followed her, slashing at her and desperately trying to kill her, but Aspyre was much too fast and agile, he swiped only at air, his frustration growing as the two of them crossed a few more doors Aspyre opened using the Force. Soon he managed to lock her in a room with only one entrance, which he guarded like a trained Kath Hound, daring her to move forward. She gritted her teeth when she realized what he had done, he had lifted the stasis on Carth and Bastila, and now he was focusing solely on her. His strikes had become much more precise and fast, although he still could not hit her, and he was much more focused now, forcing her on the defensive. Seeing she was completely trapped, Malak's eyes shined and made him look like he was grinning at her. He charged directly against her and performed a swipe so brutal, so powerful that it knocked her blue lightsaber out of her hand and pressed her against the wall, slowly overpowering her and pressing the blades closer to her face. She could feel the heat coming off the blades, the quiet hum that came from the cylinders and she was able to peer inside Malak's eyes, inside his sickening yellow eyes. There was nothing but rage in there, whatever he and Revan might have had in the past was completely gone, replaced by nothing but a blinding fury. The blades were ridiculously close to her face, her red blade was mere centimeters from burning a scar on her face, she tried to push him back, but he was so much stronger than her, it was like trying to push a Bantha off her. She had lost, she had done her best, but the small room, combined with Malak's brutal raw power had overwhelmed her. Just when she thought she was going to die, she heard the door on the other side open, and Bastila appeared, looking royally _pissed _at Malak. Aspyre called her blue lightsaber to her hand, kicked him on his stomach and he threw her towards Bastila, who got out of the way and allowed her to fly out of the room, Aspyre got up as fast as she could, but by the time she was up Bastila was closing the door.

"Get out of here! Find the Star Map, find the Star Forge!" she yelled at her. She turned around and Force pushed Malak towards the wall and turned around and managed to look into her eyes one last time before the door sealed shut. "I love you."

"Bastila!" she yelled as she ran towards the door, but it closed before she had a chance to get through. She tried to open it, but Bastila was keeping it closed with The Force, there was no opening it. "Bastila, we can take him together! Open the door! Bastila!"

"Bastila sacrificed herself so we can leave, hurry we have to run!" a voice behind her yelled at her, turning around she saw Carth Onasi, standing behind her with an urgent look in his face and anger in his eyes. "Don't make her sacrifice go to waste, let's go!"

"I can't leave her!"

"Stay here and the three of us die, if we leave, Malak will take her prisoner and we can rescue her later, let's go!" he yelled at her forcefully, pulling her arm, but she refused to go , taking out her lightsaber and forcing it through the door, but Carth pulled her harder. "There's no time, we have to go now!"

Gritting her teeth she turned off her lightsaber and followed him, trying to keep her tears from coming out, and failing miserably. Bastila… She ran as fast as she could and they reached the hangar after a minute or so. They ran up the ramp of the Ebon Hawk and Carth headed straight for the cockpit, taking off at full speed. A few turrets opened fire on them, but their shield reflected the few shots that actually collided with them and they jumped to hyperspace a few seconds later.

00

Aspyre crumbled to the ground, tears falling freely from her face into the ground. Everybody gathered in the main room and they stared at her. Mission approached her and held her face with a concerned look in her eyes. Aspyre saw her face and broke down, her last wall of defense crumbled and she hugged the Twi'lek as hard as she could, sobbing in her shoulder desperately.

"Aspyre, what happened? What took you so long? Where's Bastila?" Mission asked her in her match five voice. Upon hearing Bastila's name, she started crying even harder, and Mission patted her on the back in an effort to calm her down. "Aspyre, you're scaring me. Where's Bastila?"

"Bastila… she-she-she" she stammered, unable to speak properly.

"She was captured by Malak" Carth's voice came from the other end of the room. All heads turned to face him and Mission froze in Aspyre's iron grip. "He would have killed us, but she sacrificed herself for us."

"But… We have to get her back!" Mission yelled out loud.

"We can't, Malak is too strong for us, we have to focus on our mission right now, if we can destroy the Star Forge, we can greatly weaken Malak and we will have a better chance to save her, but right now we can't rescue her. Besides, we have a much bigger problem we have to deal with right now" he said with a grim voice, and Aspyre stopped crying the second he said that. "You want to tell them or should I?"

Mission separated herself from Aspyre as both of them stood up and she headed next to Dustil, confused and worried.

"I… I should… tell them" she said as she regained her composure. Taking a deep breath she looked at each of her companions. The blazing, furious Carth, the more curious Dustil, the worried Mission, the serene T3-M4, the misleadingly calm HK-47, the serious and rough Canderous, and the towering and concerned Zaalbar. Her companions, she owed them that much… "Aspyre Venar is not real… She… I am not real."

The group remained quiet as they waited for her to explain, because by the confused looks in their faces, they understood nothing.

"Please explain yourself, Aspyre" Zaalbar roared at her, confused and very concerned at her words.

"I… I just found out. This body is not mine. Aspyre Venar did not exist until 8 months ago. This body… belongs to… it belongs to Revan" she said after a large silence. She saw their reactions, which was pretty much along the line she expected. Carth's jaw went even firmer and his fists closed tighter. Dustil's and Mission's jaw fell open and their eyes went wide. Zaalbar remained silent for a second, but looked down at the floor. She landed her gaze on Canderous, who seemed only slightly taken aback, but not as surprised as the rest of them. "When Revan was almost killed in Bastila's mission to capture her, the Jedi Council tried to salvage her mind, but it was too damaged to be healed right away and they decided to create a new person, a new identity. They created… me."

"Wait, Revan? Darth Revan?" Mission asked, still in too much shock to fully understand what Aspyre had just said. Aspyre nodded and she continued with her explanation, if she didn't finish quickly, she was going to break down in tears again, and she didn't want that, not right now.

"I… The council wanted me to guide them on the search for the Star Maps, and that's the reason they… they told Bastila to follow me, to make sure I didn't turn back… to make sure that Revan was locked tight. It was her… job, nothing else. I…"

"Do you remember anything from being Revan?" Mission asked her quickly, and Aspyre shook her head.

"I don't think you understand. I am not Revan. She is simply another person inside this body. I have spoken to her, she has tried to break out, but I have never let her, the only time she got out was in Manaan I think, but I didn't know it was Revan back then. She tried to exit in _The Leviathan_, but I stopped her."

"Well… It seems to me if Revan is locked tight inside your mind we don't have anything to worry about right?"

"What do you mean we have nothing to worry about? Of course we do! We have been looking for the Star maps and trying to find a way to stop Malak and we've had his old Master travelling with us! We can't just keep going like we have until now! Revan bombed my planet! She destroyed countless worlds!" he yelled as he pointed at her, making Aspyre wince with every accusation he made and wishing, very, very strongly that she had her mask.

"Everybody knows that it was Malak who gave the order to fire on Telos, you can't blame Revan for that!" Canderous strongly intervened, taking a menacing step towards Carth. "And you certainly can't blame Aspyre for it, you heard her, Revan's locked tight."

"How do we know it's not Revan right now? Trying to deceive us?" Carth shot back at him.

"Because she's not evil" Dustil said quietly, making Carth turn around sharply at him. "I can't sense the Dark Side in her, dad. To be honest, it's stronger in me than it is in her. And besides, look at her eyes, their bright blue, not yellow, when she turned into Revan at Manaan, her eyes changed right away, and she reeked of the Dark Side."

His son's intervention seemed to calm Carth down, but it did not sway him away from his anger completely.

"Well, then how can we be sure that Revan won't break out? That she will take control again of the body again? I'm telling you we are not safe with her on board!"

"You… don't feel safe around me, sir? Don't you trust me anymore?" Aspyre asked him, clearly hurt at his harsh words. "Why… don't we ask the others what they think? Mission do you trust me?"

The blue Twi'lek stepped forwards and grabbed Aspyre's hand, clasping it tightly.

"You helped me rescue Zaalbar from the slave traders, you took me with you when you could have left me to die in Taris. Aside from Big Z, you are… the only family I have. I trust you, I trust you completely, Aspyre" she said firmly, before she hugged her tightly and stepped back.

"Thank you, Mission" she said on the verge of tears. "T3, you won't leave right?" The droid beeped a happy affirmative and despite herself, she smiled. "Canderous?"

The Mandalorian was silent for a moment, he looked at Carth for a full minute before he turned his neutral face to Aspyre before answering.

"Revan was the only one that could best us, of all the warriors in the galaxy, only she was able to bring us down. You might not be her, Aspyre, but I have seen you fight, you are a better warrior than she ever was, and any fight that I fight alongside you will bring me honor. It does not matter to me if you are Revan or not, I'm your man 'till the end, Aspyre, no matter what end fate will bring, I trust you with my life" he told her as her grabbed her arm and held her forearm as she held his, the Mandalorian sign for brotherhood, a gesture that made Aspyre gasp in shock, and she looked at him with grateful eyes wet with tears, no longer of despair, but joy.

"Thank you, Canderous Ordo, thank you so much" she said before she turned to her assassin droid, wiping her tears as she did. "HK? I assume this is not going to be a problem for you, right?"

"Statement: I am experiencing something… unusual, Master. It seems that the lock on my memory core has been disabled. I was programmed to have my memory returned to me upon… Upon return to my original master" the droid said with what could best be described as awe. "My memory and protocols have been completely restored, and my full arsenal is at your disposal once again Master, it is a real pleasure to see you unharmed again. I am very much looking forward to fighting by your side again, Master!" the droid said with the most humane joy that he could muster, which was humane enough to convince anybody.

"Wow! So Revan was your master?" Mission asked HK, wide-eyed with surprised. "What are the odds?"

"Remember this is the Force we're talking about, by now Malak could drop out of the sky and I wouldn't bat an eyelash" Canderous told Mission in a matter-of-fact-ly tone.

"You got a point" she told him as she nodded.

"Dustil… do you still trust me?" she asked the young boy, who looked at her with a "really?" look in his face.

"Seriously? Sith here! Why would I not follow you?" he said as he patted the Sith emblem in his uniform. "You the Dark Lord of the Sith are asking me if I trust you? Well I have to say… if you were Revan, truly Darth Revan, I would have to say not really. But you aren't Revan, not anymore at least. And I trust you, you risked a lot in getting me out of that Sith academy and helping me see the truth, and you helped me fix my relationship with my father" he said, and Carth stiffened when he heard his son's words. "I trust you Aspyre Venar… But if Revan comes out again, make sure you do your best to keep her down so I can kick her ass" he told her with a wink. Aspyre smiled and nodded at him, thanking him from the bottom of her heart.

"Zaalbar, do you trust me?"

"Aspyre Venar, like Mission said, you helped Mission save me from those Gamorrean slavers even though you did not have too. I swore a life debt to the person you are now, not the person you used to be. I will pay my debt, and I will judge your actions on what I see, not some history I have not witnessed myself" the massive wookie told her without a shred of doubt in his strong and mighty screams. Aspyre turned to the only member of the brew she had not turned, who looked much more annoyed than angry now. He caught her gaze and crossed his arms.

"Well, Carth… sir?"

"Well… the others seem to trust you, and Dustil is right… I guess I do trust you, not like I have a choice, but I do not trust Revan, and I worry what will happen to us if she comes back out" he told her with an uncompromising voice. Aspyre closed her eyes in pain and tried to find some way to get Carth to trust her again.

"If you no longer feel comfortable under my leadership, then I will gladly step down to serve under you sir, you _are _my superior officer after all" she told him seriously, although he snorted at her and merely turned around and he headed to the cockpit, leaving the seven of them looking at him in both shock and disappointment.

00

"I really blew it didn't I?" Aspyre asked as she watched Canderous working on his blaster cannon. The Mandalorian smirked, remembering his previous conversation with the princess, that had ended badly, but Aspyre was not the princess, and he had a bit more patience for her.

"Why would you say that? You have done nothing wrong, let soldier boy deal with his own stupid insecurities, if he doesn't trust you, then I say we leave him in the nearest Republic outpost and continue our mission" he told her as he fixed her cannon.

"I meant with Bastila… I spent the last two days I had with her locked in the med bay. I threw away my last two days with her."

Canderous rolled his eyes, but somehow managed to keep his Mandalorian temper under check and turned to face the girl.

"You can keep sulking about that or you can help me fix the damn scope, I don't know why it's been giving me trouble recently" he offered and after giving him a small smile, she jumped off the speeder and walked over to the workbench. "Lift this cable right here, I'm going to try to assemble it right this time" he told her and she did. Slowly worming his way forward, he managed to place the scope in sight while Aspyre lifted the cable in place with her hand between his arms, her face very close to his, it was close enough he could feel her breathing and after a few seconds he turned his eyes to look at her, to find her staring deep into his. "Hey… could you breathe the other way, you're fogging up the scope."

"Oh, sorry" she said and quickly turned her face away, blushing as she did. It never stopped amusing him teasing her, making her blush and placing her in awkward situations. Deciding he could use some fun after all this tension running in the ship, he moved closer to her and pretended to move the scope around, rubbing his arm on her chest, just below her exposed neck. He felt her tense right away and he couldn't help but snicker, which he had to disguise as a cough to prevent her from figuring out he was playing with her. "Canderous?" she asked him after a few seconds and he threw a quick sideways look at her telling her to proceed. "I… what are you doing?"

"Fixing the scope, what else?"

"No… I mean, what are you doing?" she repeated, slowly and with a different tone than the first time. Looking at her with a gaze of slight confusion, he stopped moving the scope and turned his face around, trying to get her to explain herself better, but the second he did she dropped the cable and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled him close to her, as if trying to glue herself to his face, and after a few more minutes she pulled away, saliva joining their mouths together, she stared at him, a look of both regret and desire in her face, while he was certain he had a more puzzled and confused one. "Lock the doors."

00

It had been six days since they had escaped _The Leviathan _and the only main difference was that now everything seemed more… quiet. Zaalbar was as quiet as usual, Dustil and Carth seemed to speak only to each other and occasionally to Mission, and Canderous spent even more time in the hangar, while Aspyre remained in the cargo hold, taking Bastila's place meditating. She would only go to the main room to eat, to her quarters to rest and to the hangar to speak with Canderous. It seemed that with Bastila gone, having what she considered, betrayed her, Aspyre needed some sort of comfort, ironic that she would find it in the Mandalorian, but at least it kept her from breaking down again. To say nobody was worried she turned back into Revan would be a lie, and a very large one to say the least. She had gone around the ship, asking her friends if they felt comfortable around her, trying to sense some sort of hostility towards her, but the only hostility she felt came from Carth, who she know treated even more formally than before. No more inside jokes, no more inappropriate flirting, no more casual chat or asking about his past, he was her superior officer, and for the first time since they met in Taris, both of them kept their relationship strict professional, neither of them wanting to give the other a chance to hurt them again.

For the first time since she had some sort of memory, Mission was bored of Pazaak. She sighed as she threw the cards in the table in a disorderly pile. She couldn't believe it, but the game no longer held any appeal to her. The thrill of betting your credits, of trying to read your opponent without giving away too much… it was gone, replaced by sheer boredom. What had happened to her? She grabbed a number 6 card and fidgeted with the corner of it, wondering to herself. Had something changed? What was different with her? She loved Pazaak, why didn't she anymore?

_"You've grown up" _she thought to herself and as she relaxed back in the chair and crossed her arms, she smiled to herself. Yeah, that was it, wasn't it? 14 years old, well 15 now, and she was already all grown up. It was interesting, she thought, how one lost track of time so quickly. Aspyre's birthday, or the day that the Jedi Council told her was her birthday, had been about 6 months ago and she had not know until a few days ago, when Aspyre had come to talk to her about being Revan and some other stuff. Her own birthday had been just after they arrived in Dantooine, six days after the destruction of Taris, she recalled with a small wince of pain. What had happened that dates no longer mattered to them? If they were comfortable or not did not matter to anybody, any problems they seemed to have were pushed away in favor of the mission, everything came second, and she had always viewed that as very strange, until now, now she understood. _"They're responsible, and now so are you."_

She stood up and glanced at the pile of cards. She picked them up and placed the in the correct order, from largest to smallest and placed the large deck neatly inside the carrying case in her belt. She unclipped the case and after looking at the tiny "M" in the front, she pressed a button and opened a drawer, and placed it inside. She headed to the cockpit, deciding she might as well try talking to Carth to cool his head a little bit.

"Hi!" she greeted him as she sat down on empty co-pilot's chair, and he grunted at her. "How much longer until we reach Kashyyyk?"

"Shouldn't be much longer, a few more hours I think. We should be dropping out of hyperspace in an hour or so, and then it's just a few more hours until we reach it."

"What do you know of Kashyyyk?" she asked him as she lifted her legs and rested them on the dash of the cockpit, something that earned her a glare from Carth and she swiftly dropped them back. "Sorry."

"Never mind, well, the entire surface of Kashyyyk is covered by trees kilometers high. The Wookies live in the upper levels, and the surface is a very dangerous place to be, everybody stays out of it. Last I heard, Czerka Corporation has built a base of operations here, but as to what they actually do, I don't know."

"Mmm, good to know. Kashyyyk… Zaalbar never talk about his home planet, he never really told me why he left… Hey! Tachs live here right? Tach monkeys?"

"Yes, on the surface, and according to… Aspyre that's where the Star Map is as well."

"Mmm, she probably is going to get a gland for my brother" she said through gritted teeth. Oh, how she hated him, she definitely did not want to see him again, but Aspyre had promised him, and Mission had to still see her break one of her promises. "Aspyre's very nice, the Council did a very good job programming her, don't you think?" she asked the pilot directly, which earned her another long glare, but she simply blinked back at him, waiting for his answer.

"I suppose" he conceded in defeat. "She has her flaws, but that is probably the Council's doing in order to keep Revan trapped inside."

"Flaws? Like what?"

"Well, for one she can be really childish sometimes. She sometimes doesn't understand the consequences of her actions, she makes weak and stupid puns, she has a lot of "little girl" moves. Secondly, she seems a bit _too _hesitant to kill, and that might be the death of us one day. And last, her conscience has gotten us in trouble more than once, I understand that we are the good guys, but we can't postpone our mission because she made a promise to somebody. I think that the Council tried too hard to make sure she was completely opposite of Revan in every sense possible, that should make it easier to hold her down" he said slowly, eyes steady on the bright purple tunnel in front of them. "It's probably very hard for her… She must be fighting constantly against… against Revan" he said in a softer voice.

"Probably… We should help her" Mission said absentmindedly.

"How?"

"Well… have you noticed that her head begins to hurt when Revan tries to come out? Well, what if we help her when she says her head begins to hurt, we can ask Dustil to knock her out cold or something… We could also try making things… smoother for her, that way she won't feel stress and it will be harder for Revan to try to come out!"

"Mmm, that sounds like a plan… fine I suppose we'll ask Dustil to stay close to Aspyre. Hey, do me a favor and round everybody up in the main room, we're gonna drop out of hyperspace in a few minutes, and we need to plan our approach."

"Sure thing!" she said and hurriedly ran out, past Zaalbar, HK and T3 who were already in the main room and went inside the men's quarters, where she found Dustil asleep on his bed. She tiptoed towards him and very carefully crept on top of him, making sure she did not step on him. She threw her lekkus over her shoulder and brought her face down on him, kissing him softly multiple times. After the seventh kiss he began to stir, and after the ninth he opened his sleepy eyes. "Hi" she whispered in his ear. "Your dad wants all of us in the main room, we're almost in Kashyyyk."

"Mmm… 'Kay" he mumbled back and she got off him and headed to the girl's quarters, but found it empty.

She checked the cargo hold, but found Aspyre was not there either. She went to the hangar, but found it locked, puzzled at the strange occurrence, Mission went to try the other door and finding it locked as well, she took out her hacking equipment and started working on the lock. It wasn't like Canderous to lock himself in the hangar… She easily disabled the door locks and pressed the release button. As she stepped inside the hangar, a very, very familiar smell hit her, and her eyes widened when she recognized it. Canderous? She would have never thought of it. She entered the room, naughty curiosity encouraging her forward. She saw his clothes thrown on the floor and she narrowed her eyes, not sure if she should interrupt him. Deciding she would only get one chance at this, she bit her lip and took another step, peering on the other side of the speeder and gasping out loud at the sight. Canderous was sleeping in the ground, on top of a spare rag, but it was not the sight of the naked Mandalorian that shocked her, it was the tiny girl lying down next to him, wrapped in his powerful, muscular arms.

"As-Aspyre?" she whispered softly, thinking it had to be a dream, truly she was just having a dream, Aspyre? Innocent sweet Aspyre? There was no way! She loved Bastila! She loved Bastila like mad! She couldn't have done that!

The blonde girl stirred next to the hibernating man, and Mission saw her face turn redder than she ever had in her short life. She pushed her very long hair out of her face and turned very slowly to face the blue Twi'lek and did her best not to tremble.

"Mission? I-I… It's not what it looks!"

"Aspyre? You…"

"No wait, let me explain! Mission, wait Mission!" she yelled as the girl turned around and ran out of the hangar.

_So, we have gotten to the end of the chapter! :o I think I'm gonna write Ian's story for a while and let you suffer muah hahaha! No just kidding, I'll write the next one over the next couple of days, probably will upload during the weekend Tell me what you think!_

_Oh, almost forgot, if you press my homepage link, you will see a picture of the triplets, three characters from my other story (not really them, but the face and hair is exactly how I pictured them) but if you imagine the girl's hair longer and change her eyes from green to bright blue, then she's Aspyre! :D just in case you wanted a better idea what she looked like._


	24. They're So Mean

Chapter 24

Aspyre stood up and wrapped herself in her white cloak, running after Mission as she left Canderous still snoring peacefully on the floor. The man was truly knocked out cold. She left the hangar and found Mission in the girl's quarters, a confused look in her face.

"Mission?" she asked her softly. The girl looked up with an embarrassed look in her face and jumped slightly at the sound of her name being said.

"Oh, Re- Aspyre. I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you I just… Carth wants us to gather in the main room, we're going to arrive in Kashyyyk soon and he wants to have a plan before we do."

"Okay. Mission about what you saw I…"

"It's okay. You're an adult, right? You can do whatever you please. And because this is your ship there's nobody that is going to force you to do anything you don't want to do" she told her with a slight tone of sarcasm.

"Mission, please don't say things like that I…"

"What about Bastila?"

"What _about _Bastila?"

"How do you think she is going to feel about this?"

"Bastila… she betrayed me! I… She never told me about… me, about her! I…"

"So that justifies you cheating on her? What happened to you Aspyre? The last time I saw you together you were crazy about each other, you loved each other so much and you could hardly keep your hands to yourselves."

"I… It's hard Mission! I… I just found out my body used to be the one of a Sith Lord, my love lied to me and she was taken by Malak, and now I am supposed to just shake it off and keep going? Is that what everybody expects from me?" she asked the young Twi'lek, how looked at her dumbfounded, obviously unsure of what to say. "I needed some comfort… I still do, Mission. You have no idea how hard it is. And Canderous… well I have always been attracted to him."

"So he's just your backup?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"That's not what I meant Mission! Please don't make this any harder than what it already is! I… I feel overwhelmed by this, I don't think I can pull it off, and yet, I have no choice do I? Because of some sense of righteousness implanted in my personality by the Jedi council I feel the need to help others, to get involved in the well-being of other people. I have to keep going, even if my mind is being split in two. It's so hard" she told her as she sat down next to her and rested her head on her shoulder. "I just want to…"

"Want to what?" Mission asked her after she was silent for a few minutes.

"That's the thing. I don't know what I want to do. After I finish this mission, I… I don't know what I want to do with myself, with my life. I guess they didn't think it would matter, that what I did was of no interest to them once Malak was dead… They're so mean."

"Aspyre, don't worry, alright. Let's focus on getting the star map, stopping Malak and getting Bastila back, okay? You can figure out what to do later."

"I guess you're right. We should go wake Canderous up and go to the meeting."

"You go wake Canderous up! Seriously, the smell Dustil and I left in the medical bay pales in comparison" Mission said as she elbowed her friend playfully, grinning at her blushed face.

"Mandalorians do make love like they make war" she told her with a shy smile.

00

Bastila screamed in agony as the lightning tentacles swept through her body, her back tensed in an arc. Malak send another wave against her tender flesh that almost knocked her out cold. She screamed until she ran out of air, she yelled until every last molecule of oxygen had left her body. The Dark Lord stopped his assault and let her fall back down on the rough stone table.

"If you think torturing me is going to break me, then you are sorely mistaken, Malak" she shot at him, spitting out the last word. She saw the bald man turn around and fix her with an amused glare.

"Torturing you? No my sweet Bastila, this is just a preview, an entrance, to open your appetite. When you finally decide to join me, it will be of your own free will."

"I would rather die than join you!"

Malak shot another lightning wave at her, plucking the screams from her throat. She struggled against the chains, trying to free herself, and that is when the dreadful image came back to her mind, the horrible scenario she thought she had put behind her. Suddenly she was no longer in the stone room, being tortured by Malak. She was back… Back on Taris, being raped by the Vulkars. She felt their rough hands touching her, fondling and pinching her, as vividly as she felt them the first time. She felt their breath, their sweat and their tongues crawling over her body, she felt the pain of being ripped apart by them once more, and the agony of reliving that experience alone was more than what Malak could ever do to her. She broke down in tears as the lightning still advanced and shocked her mercilessly. She closed her eyes to prevent the bolts from entering them, but the pain overwhelmed her senses, blinded her, rendered her both death and mute, prevented her from tasting the blood pouring into her mouth from her ripped muscles, and did not allow her to feel anything except the pain.

"You are strong child, but I will break you."

"No" she weakly replied.

"Simple physical torture will not get to you, so let's see what crawls in your mind, what dark demons haunt you" he told her as he brought a finger closer to her temple. She screamed at once and threw her head back, trying to get away, desperately screaming at him trying to bite him, doing anything that would keep him away from her, but with another shock he managed to stop her resistance. "So, there is more in your mind that I thought, let's explore what happened here."

"No! No! Get away from me! Please no!"

Bastila felt her mind crack open with pain as Malak began to read her mind, freeing her thoughts from him to read. He saw everything he needed there. His eyes gleamed when he saw he had more than enough to turn her to the Dark Side, it would not take long. She was very, very damaged.

"Interesting, let's have you relive some of your worst memories shall we?"

"No… I… I can't"

Bastila screamed as she remembered her capture in Taris, the horror that she had been subjected to, the unexplainable torture that was having that neural band being forced upon her, of being unable to do anything but feel, as countless men had their way with her. Her desperate attempts to fight back, the horrible stinging pain that had only gotten worse with the passing of the days. But one of those encounters was much stronger than the rest of them, one encounter truly terrified her, and that was the one Malak forced her to relive.

She was not chained to the bed just yet, this particular memory had happened before they switched the head band. She was thrown in the bed, exhausted after hours of being used. She heard the door open and did her best not to sob anymore. The male sat down next to her and examined her body, caressing her naked form and making her shiver. He suddenly lifted her and turned her around. She heard his pant being unzipped and felt very large tears falling from her eyes into the bed. He grabbed her by her hips and with a single powerful move, he split her in half, making her overcome the neural band for a little while and writhe in pain. She yelled and begged him to stop, to at least give her some time to breath, to use her mouth or her vagina like the other men, but to please stop ravaging her like that, but he did not listen to her and he kept going uninterrupted, ripping her muscle walls apart and making her bleed profoundly. She bit her lower lip in pain and tried to shut out the pain, but without The Force as her ally, she was unable to do anything but grit her teeth in despair, occasionally blurting out a few tiny, pathetic pleas that fell on his deaf ears.

"Please… I can't. I…"

Malak stopped and she returned to the stone room, blood pouring out of her mouth.

"I… I can't betray her."

"Her? You mean Revan?"

"No! Revan is locked and buried! Aspyre! Aspyre Venar!"

"Foolish girl, Revan cannot be contained; she cannot be stopped by those pathetic fools in the Jedi council. She will break free again and she will come for you, eager to get her revenge on you. She will kill you, unless you become stronger than her. Become my apprentice, and I will teach you power beyond Revan's beyond everything you have ever known. Embrace the Dark Side Bastila, and you will gain power beyond your wildest dreams."

"Aspyre will hold, and so will I."

"Well, let's see what your friends in Taris think about that!"

"No! No! Please don't! I can't! No! Please! NOOOOO!"

00

Aspyre walked down the ramp and was greeted by an ithorian.

"Greetings, welcome to I-95, I see your ship is not in our expected arrivals list. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to pay our landing fee of 100 credits in order to use our corporation's landing pads" he told her in his native language.

"A yes, I apologize, here" she said handing him the chip. "If I may ask, why is Czerka Corporation in Kashyyyk?"

"Kashyyyk? It is very rare to see a foreigner revering to this planet by that name. Yes the natives call it that, but when Czerka Corp acquired the rights to place a base of operations here, it was given its numeric designation."

"And… what operations are those?" she asked as she, the ithorian, Zaalbar, HK-47, Dustil and Mission walked down the ramp towards the main office.

"Czerka deals with… the exportation of this planet's natural resources, currently we are studying the wild life and are trying to determine what makes the trees grow to such proportions, but right now we are exporting… the wildlife around here."

"Wildlife?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at his hesitation to answer her rather simple question. "What species exactly?"

"Well, we are currently dealing with a few of the native species such as Tachs and…" the ithorian hesitated to answer, but when they turned the corner of the ramp Aspyre saw a female wookie, laying trapped in a cage, groaning angrily at her captors, and her eyes widened.

"Wookies!" she asked him, rage thick in her voice. "Are you selling wookies?"

"It is the same as when I left, the slavers still have my people captive" Zaalbar roared behind her angrily.

"Ma'am, please I want to inform you that any damage that your wookie slave causes will be held on to you."

"My friend" she said, spitting out every word. "Zaalbar is not a slave! He is following me because he has a life debt to me, not because I bought him!"

"Ah, my apologies, a most efficient way to get them under your control, very few have been able to accomplish such a feat" the ithorian, foolishly said.

"Do not diminish the life debt! Don't you dare!" Zaalbar roared at the ithorian, towering well over his height and making him shake like a puppy.

"I can't believe this! How can you treat Zaalbar's kind like that? They are people, just like you and me, but for some reason you don't seem to care about that, slaver scum!" Mission spat out at the ithorian's feet, who looked more and more frightened by the new group in his office."If my friend here wasn't a Jedi you would be lying in a pool of your own blood! You deserve nothing less, slaver."

"Please, I am but an honest businessman!"

"What you do is not honest. I suggest you cut your relationship with Czerka Corporation and leave. Because I am here to change things, by the authority vested in my by the Jedi council, I am going to close all slave activity here in Kashyyyk" Aspyre told him firmly as she walked over to the caged wookie, and Force pushing the guard aside, she took her blue lightsaber and cut the cage open, freeing the trapped female inside. "Zaalbar, she might not understand basic, please tell her that she is free to return to her village and if anybody tries to stop her, then they will have to answer to me, Aspyre Venar."

Zaalbar translated for her and the wookie female looked very cautiously at her, but after a while she bowed to her and ran back towards her village. Roaring at a few of the guards, who looked at her with confusion and contempt in their eyes.

"What you have done is illegal, Ma'am, I'm afraid you are going to have to assume responsibility for that slave" the ithorian said softly, but he shut up the second she directed her gaze to him.

"I will not pay anything for a sentient being that you sell as pets. No sentient race is above any other, I assume you would not appreciate it if Czerka went to your planet and started selling your family by the pound, would you?" she told the taken aback ithorian. "I thought so."

"Please Ma'am, we are not doing anything illegal, we have struck a deal with the chief of the village, everything we do is with the permission of the wookies!"

"And who is this chief?"

"I don't know, I don't deal with him personally, all I know is that his name is Chuundar."

"Chuundar… I wished I had not heard that name" Zaalbar groaned behind her.

"You know him?"

"He… is my brother."

"Your brother? Big Z, why didn't you tell us? How can your brother do that to your own people?" the mortified Mission exploded.

"I do not wish to speak about that Mission."

"Come on, let's go, we have a lot of work to do, and my gut tells me we are not going to like what we find out here" Dustil told them.

The group left the office and went down the ramp, earning numerous glares from the Czerka employees, but after Dustil displayed his Sith abilities, they backed off, and let them be in peace.

"Canderous, dad, the people here like us, in fact they like us so much they might just pay you a visit, be on your toes, I would hate for something to happen to the ship, or to you" Dustil told them with a tone of authority he definitely did not have had a few months ago.

"Why am I not surprised?" Canderous replied to him. "Be careful, I would hate for something to happen to the data pad you use to carry all the information… or to you" he harshly replied and signed off. The group made their way down the wooden towers, encountering a few bugs HK took great pleasure in dispatching.

They came across a group of men next to a dead wookie, shaking their heads in exasperation.

"What are we going to do? Our boss is going to be furious if he finds what happened here!"

"We'll have to deal with this later, we got company. You, what do you want, this is no place for tourists."

"We are not tourists, _slaver_!" Mission spat at him, disgust heavy in her voice. "What happened here? Why is that wookie dead? Did you kill him?"

"What happened here, is that this wookie slave got a little savage, we were forced to put him down in order to prevent damage to Company property. Nothing else."

"Put down? We are not animals!"

"Zaalbar please calm down, allow me to settle this peacefully" Aspyre pleaded him, and the wookie did not proceed, but did not back down either. She turned to face the slavers with a sad look on her face, but before she was able to speak, Mission yelled at her.

"No! Don't calm down! I've seen enough!" She yelled pulling out her blasters and opening fire on the man on the left, who crumpled down on the floor with a shocked look on his face before the others even had a chance to react. Aspyre turned on her lightsaber and ignited both ends, redirecting the two blaster shots they fired at them as Dustil blocked the one fired at Mission before HK shot one through the heart and Zaalbar punched one straight in the face. The wookie lifted the almost unconscious man and tossed him like a toy over the railing, sending him screaming towards his death. Aspyre ran to the edge and tried to hold him, but he was too far away, it was too faint, and soon she lost track of his aura. Wincing, she turned around to her group and looked at them, a look of disappointment in her eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that. We could have found a peaceful solution" she whispered softly, but Mission drowned her protest.

"No! I have had enough! I won't stand by and just watch how Zaalbar's people are enslaved simply because their chief thinks he can do whatever he wants! From now on, I'm shooting any slaver I see!"

"Satisfied Encouragement: Well said, meatbag! Master, you should take not from your vicious friend, conflicts would be terminated much quicker if you employed a course of action similar to hers."

"No, please listen to me, don't let your anger get the best of you Mission!"

"I'm with Mission, Aspyre, I apologize, but I have seen my people suffer for too long, I can hardly stand it" Zaalbar roared .

"Aspyre, some things cannot be resolved peacefully. This is one of them, truly you have to see that!" Dustil told her with a slightly more neutral tone than the rest, but still encouraging the killing of people.

"I… I cannot. I can't allow you to continue to do what you have just done. There was a chance for redemption in those men, and you took it from them. Don't you see? Don't you see that it's unfair?"

"And what they have done to us? Is that fair?"

"I… No, Zaalbar, it's not, but you can't fight injustice with more injustice. Please Zaalbar, I can't control the rest, but please, I ask you to restrain yourself. And you HK, you are explicitly ordered not to kill anybody unless our lives are in danger, and in that case, shoot to wound, not kill. And not a deadly wound, either! Something they can heal."

"I will do as you ask, Aspyre. You are a very honorable person. You show sympathy to those that do not deserve it, that is more than any wookie would give them. Some would call you weak, but I call you brave. I will restrain myself."

"Thank you Zaalbar. I don't want to hear it HK" she told the droid quickly before he had a chance to protest her decision.

"Unhappy Statement: As you desire Master, HK is ready to serve."

"Mission, Dustil… please…"

The blue Twi'lek looked at her with a look of disbelief in her eyes, her jaw wide open in shock. Dustil crossed his arms and sighed, nodding to her. Mission however, was much less enthusiastic about the idea.

"I make no promises" she said before turning around and storming away.

00

Bastila did not know for how long she had been awake, for who long had Malak tortured her, both mentally and physically. But it had to be days, and he still stood there, as strong as he had in the first day. Neither of them had eaten or drank anything in the mean time, and she was starving, but he seemed as strong as he ever was.

"How?"

"How?" he echoed her.

"I… I don't understand. It's… been days… you"

"Should be tired? Should have taken a break by now? No, my dear Bastila, with The Dark Side as my ally, I can continue for days, for weeks without stopping, my hatred fuels me, and that is all I need. Join me, and this power can also be yours, all this raw power for you to harness!" he said as he launched another blast at her. She felt as the lightning again crept through her destroyed body, burning what little unhurt skin she had and cracking her lips and her skin wide open. She would have screamed, but her throat was much too dry, and only tiny gasps came out of her parched throat.

"I can't join you! I love her!"

"Foolish Bastila, do you think she loves you back? Think about it, it has been so long, and she has not even contacted you through the bond you share, has she?"

Bastila was silent as the words sunk in. It was true, Aspyre had not contacted her, and no matter the distance between them, they could always speak to each other. She had not tried of course, but only because Malak never gave her a chance.

"I have blocked her off. I don't want her to see this" she lied to him.

"Face the truth Bastila! You are alone!" he yelled as he shocked her again, as he closed her windpipe and released it just before she passed out, as he crushed her organs until they were close to their breaking point and then stopping. It was beyond hell. Burning to death must be heaven compared to what she was enduring.

"I love her…" she kept whispering weakly. "I love her… I… love her, I love… her, I…"

00

Aspyre kept walking as she did her best to hide her disappointment at her companions. She expected such savagery from HK, she would not have been so surprised to see it from Dustil, but from Zaalbar, from Mission? It worried her. It worried her that they might be falling to the Dark Side. She didn't worry that they would join Malak, but letting their anger and hatred consume them was probably just as bad, and she would never forgive herself if she did not help them. Dustil already knew the dangers of the Dark Side, despite his constant tempering with it, he somehow had managed to find a balance between his own inner peace and his more… brash emotions. But Mission, she was a hot head, that she knew, but this explosion of hers. it disturbed her deeply. She fumed violently, mercilessly shooting at everything in her way, bugs, small animals… Czerka employees. Despite Zaalbar's, Dustil's and HK's restrain, she had not stopped her attacks, and they had been forced to defend themselves. She had killed about eight of them so far.

"How far, Big Z?"

"It's not far, a few more meters and we should arrive at the village gate. If we will be well received, I do not know" he roared sadly.

"What do you mean?" Aspyre asked him, desperate to find something to occupy her mind other than the rather… cheerful thoughts she had.

"I did not leave voluntarily. I was exiled."

"Why?"

"Well, I found out that my brother had done a deal with slavers, and I was so furious that I attacked him with my claws" he told them, his head bowed in shame.

"You were exiled because you found out your brother was a slaver?" the confused, but still furious, Mission asked him.

"No… I was exiled because I used my claws. Our claws are not weapons, they are tools, to use them in combat is to reject our civility, those that use their claws are considered nothing more than animals. Nobody believed my claims… until it was too late."

"It always is like that" Aspyre sadly pointed out. She turned forward and saw the even angrier Mission grip her blaster so tight it seemed it was going to break in her hands, eager to find anything else to shoot.

They arrived at the village, were two wookies roared at them in disgust at the sight of Zaalbar in their group, but they allowed them to pass, under the pretense they were "forced" to see the great Chuundar. They entered a large fresh hut, with a large pelt thrown decoratively on the floor. Aspyre, Dustil, Mission, Zaalbar and HK entered the room and saw three wookies, the one in the center wearing a large crown that probably meant he was the chief, and two Czerka employers. Mission gritted her teeth at the sight, but a quick, fierce look from Aspyre calmed her down… slightly.

"Brother! You have returned at long last" the wookie in the center, Chuundar, roared at them as they stepped in.

"I see our home is still in the same miserable state as when I left. It saddens me greatly to know you are the cause of this suffering, brother" he said, adding the last word as if it stung to say it out loud.

"You never were able to see the big picture brother, but don't worry, we will have plenty of time to chat after I send your companions away."

"Send us away? Please, would your highness allow us a hearing first?" Aspyre politely bowed and asked him, appealing to his ego, which seemed to work. The wookie puffed his chest out, making him seem even bigger.

"It seems at least your friends have some manners, brother. Who are you human?"

"My name is Aspyre Venar, I am Jedi sent by the Jedi Council to find ancient artifacts. My sources tell me that one of the artifacts that I am searching for is located in… the Shadowlands, I humbly request passage for me and my friends in order to search for this artifact."

"Mmm… I know nothing of this artifact you speak of, but I have some use for you human. I will grant you passage to the Shadowlands, but you have to do something for me. There is a wookie living down there, a mad claw, like my brother. He is attacking my Czerka allies. That I cannot tolerate. I want you to find him and put him down like the savage animal he is."

"I don't know what you might have heard of us, but Jedi are not hired killers. I apologize, but I will not do it" Aspyre said, watching her plan crumble before her.

"Then you will not pass, or find what you seek, human. Zaalbar will stay here with me to ensure your loyalty, I cannot hold a human, but Czerka does not care what I do with a wookie" the brown haired alien told them defiantly. Aspyre gritted her teeth and slowly bowed, having no options for the moment, she would have to play along.

"Then we shall do as you ask. I have but one request, mighty Chuundar, I wish to leave my private security droid here with Zaalbar, I am sure that you will find him very helpful for whatever task you might need him, unless they involve violence, in which case he will refuse."

Chuundar thought about it for a moment, scratching his fur. After a few seconds, he nodded and waved them away.

"HK, follow whatever order he gives you, except if they involve hurting, incapacitating somebody, in which case tell him you cannot follow his order. I want you to be on the lookout. If they try to hurt you, or Zaalbar, then start basting and get back to the Hawk, understood?"

"Response: As you desire, Master" the rust red droid said as he approached the wookie and spoke to him in his native tongue.

"Don't worry Big Z, we're coming back for you!" Mission yelled at him, shooting Chuundar a nasty look the wookie ignored.

The three of them turned around and ran back towards the lift, hoping to find the star map, and find away to get Zaalbar out of there. They quickly made their way and Aspyre noticed that Mission no longer seemed furious, now she seemed concerned and focused on doing their job, exactly what they needed. They arrived to the lift and found a dark skinned wookie waiting for them with a disgusted look on his face.

"You are the ones Chuundar sent to do his work. Can't say that I am pleased to see you tread on our holy ground, but I take you down with the hope that the jungle will kill you, human" he told them with contempt. Aspyre ignore his comment and kindly asked him to lower the lift, to which the wookie responded with confusion and curiosity, but said nothing.

00

Bastila could take no more pain. She no longer felt her arms or legs, and she was certain that at least her right arm was dislocated, if not broken. She simply hanged from the stone table, slowly feeling how her muscles began to tear from the continued effort of holding her body in place. She was no longer crying, no longer screaming, her tears had gone dry, her throat had lost the ability to produce sound. She was beyond pain, her body seemed to have shut down completely, and she could only see and hear Malak in front of her, tormenting her with visions and shocking her, choking her, crushing her, beating her, slowly crawling into her mind, turning it around, forcing thoughts that were not her own into it, trying to break her, but he wouldn't… he couldn't. Because no manner what terrible torture and pain Malak inflicted upon her, disappointing Aspyre was even worse. She tried not to think about the last time she had spoken to her, but Malak forced her to, and she relived her painful words over and over in her mind.

_"I can't forgive you. I can't forgive you. I can't forgive you. I can't forgive you. I can't forgive you. I can't forgive you. I can't forgive you. I can't forgive you" _she heard her lover's voice until it was all she could hear, until her mind was consumed with the memory, and she could only feel the dread and despair she had felt that moment.

"I can't" she whispered, although she wondered if Malak heard her, she no longer really cared. The only tiny source of satisfaction came from seeing how Malak's frustration grew with each passing… minute, hour, day? Time was no longer something she could calculate.

00

It had been four days since they had gone down to the Shadowlands, the massive size of the place did not allow them to make a quick search, and with HK on top, they could not triangulate the position of the Star Map, making it much more difficult to find anything in that infernal place.

"I think I see something!" Mission told them as she stared through her visor. Taking it off her hands and placing it over his eyes, Dustil checked what she meant. "It's some kind of green glow."

"It's a lightsaber!"

"A lightsaber? Are you sure?"

"Yes! I can distinguish the glow, and besides, you can totally see the Jedi wielding it! He's pretty good, he's fighting about four of those giant beasts and… winning by the looks of it, despite his age" the boy said, apparently very impressed with the Jedi's fighting abilities.

"How old do you think he is?"

"Ancient, at the very least" he replied with a smirk.

"Please don't talk like that, it's very disrespectful towards him" Aspyre reproached him.

After apologizing, the three of them made their way towards him, and found the older man standing near a pile of carcasses, shutting of his lightsaber as he turned around to face them; his eyes checked Mission and Dustil for a second before landing on Aspyre and remaining there until they were within speaking range.

"A good to see you! It's not very often you see somebody around here, unless they're wookies or Czerka."

"Greetings, are you a Jedi?" Aspyre asked him.

"This is not the best place to talk, follow me back to my home, we can talk peacefully there" he said as he turned around and jogged surprisingly fast, considering his age. The old man's house was located under the roots of a monstrous tree, which also served as the back wall. Large pieces of metal served as the right and left wall and the front wall was made of the same metal, but covered with what looked like animal hide. "Well, here we are, home sweet home, come on in, let's get comfortable."

They entered the house and sat down in what should be the main room of the house, where there were three tree stumps already set down, and with The Force, he brought another one for Mission to sit down.

"So, how long has it been? It's been quite a while since I've seen you here, almost didn't recognize you without your mask" he told Aspyre, who's eyes widened in shock.

"You… Who are you?" she asked him. The man frowned at her, confused at the question, and then Aspyre realized, she would be confused if somebody she knew asked her who she was. "I'm sorry, but the person that lived in this body is dead. My name is Aspyre Venar; I suppose you knew me as Revan before."

"Interesting, do you mind if I ask how this happened?"

"I… I was attacked in my flag ship. Or rather Revan was attacked in her flagship, from what I have heard, her mind was too damaged and she almost died, but Bastila Shan saved her and brought her back to the Jedi Council. They sealed her mind the best they could and then they created me. So I have no memories of Revan, she is a different person from myself."

The old Jedi was quiet for a few minutes scratching his beard and his bald head, absorbing what she had told him.

"Well… very interesting. I should have known something was up when I noticed your companions. They are definitely a step up from your previous friends. That droid and the bald guy, what was his name… Malak."

"She was here? When?"

"Five years ago, you… or shall I say she came here, looking for a star map with Malak and a red droid that seemed very interested in killing as many creatures as possible."

"Ah, yes, well we still have that droid" Mission interrupted him.

"I'm sorry, but you haven't told me who you are."

"Ah, yes where are my manners, my name is Jolee Bindo, at your service."

"It's a pleasure, as I said, my name is Aspyre Venar, and these are my friends, Mission Vao, and Dustil Onasi."

"I see you still enjoy hanging around Sith" he said when he noticed the boys fancy lightsaber and uniform.

"Actually… I'm not a Sith, well not what you define as a Sith. I was trained by the Sith in their academy at Korriban, but Aspyre made me see the light, so to speak. Now I use the training they gave me to put a stop to their schemes, not something many Jedi would agree on, but effective nonetheless."

"Interesting, using the Dark for good, interesting point of view boy."

"Excuse me Jolee, but are you a Jedi?" Aspyre asked again.

"Ah, don't go flattering me now, lass. I'm just and old man with a lightsaber, and that's all you need to know. So, what brings you to this place once again?"

"I'm searching for the star map. I need it to find the Star Forge and stop Malak from conquering the galaxy" she told him bluntly.

"Mmm, interesting, so now you are retracing your steps to stop your old apprentice, ironic isn't it?"

"I suppose. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, do you?"

"Why yes of course I do, I followed you two the last time you were here. Although, I wonder if the are truly looking for the Star Map for this rather noble purpose you have told me…" Jolee told her scratching his beard.

"I am. I really am. Please, if you know where it is, please help me! Malak has captured my… my friend, I have to rescue her as well and we have already lost a lot of time in this place, please would you help us?"

"Mmm. Well, when you put it that way I can't really say no, can I?"


	25. I've Never Liked That Name

Chapter 25

Aspyre saw as the old Jedi pressed a few keys on the control panel near the energy shield, clicking very slowly and patiently as he explained to her why there was a large energy shield in the middle of the forest.

"This thing was placed by Czerka in order to protect their operations here from the more… vicious animals found deeper in the Shadowlands. A rather ingenious plan had the animals not found a way around it. It managed to keep the big ones away, but many of the smaller ones simply climb the trees and cross over it."

"Mmm…" Aspyre simply responded uninterested at the facts Jolee was telling her. The old man noticed her lack of interest and grumpily snorted at her before pressing a few more keys and turning it off. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but this place is not safe, at least not for us. We haven't slept at all since we came down here, and we have only had a few hours of rest, the animals seem intent on driving us out."

"Why shouldn't they? You're trespassing on their home" he scolded them as he crossed the energy shield.

"What about you?"

"Me? I have been here longer than most of them, if anything they're trespassing on my home."

"How long have you been here?"

"Hard to say, probably twenty years or more, time seems to slow down when-"

Aspyre saw Dustil grab lift Mission on his arms and jump out of the way as a huge pack of Kinraths jumped forward at them, legs and appendages ready to strike at them. Aspyre jumped up and was very surprised to find Jolee up in the air at the same speed as she was. Clearly age had not had its toll on this man. As they rose in the air one of the insects jumped up at them, trying to sting their feet, but with a swift cut from her red blade, Aspyre sent the beast scurrying, and earned a questioning glance from Jolee, before she clipped it and pulled out her blue staff, igniting both ends as they dropped back to the ground. A few more Kinraths tried to sting them, but they only managed to lose a few legs in the process. Dustil, still carrying Mission, kicked one of them in the face before the Rutian girl shot it at point blank range. The last few beasts scurried away quickly from the group, desperately to return to their hideout after the failed attack, which was rather unusual as Kinraths were extremely stubborn when they begun an attack, usually even if they were overwhelmed they would keep fighting.

"Something's not right" Jolee said quietly as he closed his eyes.

"Hiss" a soft noise came from behind them.

"Oh" was the only sound Aspyre could make as she turned around and saw what had made the Kinrath flee away in terror.

00

Carth had secured the perimeter for the seventh time that day, T3 had the ship prepped and systems ready to go, just like he had ordered him and Canderous had finished installing the new power packs to their blasters and was now tinkering with the swoop again. The same procedure had been repeated for the last two days, and Carth was getting sick of it.

"Any word from them?"

"Not since fifteen minutes ago that you asked me" Canderous shot back with a very irritated look on his face, one that slightly brightened Carth's mood.

"Let me know-"

"If she calls, I got it, Republic!"

00

Aspyre ran through the jungle, jumping over fallen logs and sliding under those that were too tall, she jumped up tree trunks and kicked off them, hoping to lose her pursuer. She saw a clearing right in front of her and decided to avoid it, as it would have the advantage there. She quickly ran around it and saw Dustil and Mission keeping up with her, although the latter was panting heavily and struggling to keep up. She looked to her right and saw Jolee as well, running even faster than them despite his age. The four of them ran as fast as they could and did their best to not look back at the hideous sight that was chasing them at full speed.

"We have to split up!" Jolee yelled at them once they had crossed around the clearing. "It'll chase only one of us; the rest can then kill it!"

"When?" Aspyre yelled as they crossed over a few rotten logs, which the beast simply smashed like they were twigs and kept chasing them.

"Now!" Mission said as she saw how the path conveniently split into three, each separated by a very thick wall of bushes and thorny vines. She immediately took the right path, and she was more than slightly shocked to see Dustil run into the middle path next to Aspyre. The old man took the left path, the one farthest away from the monster, and because she had incredible luck the humongous Anakkona decided that the bright blue girl running a few feet away from it's mouth was the most delicious treat of the four. Mission did not even had time to yell for help before the beast stopped following her and began climbing a tree next to her, rising into the canopy and losing itself from her sight. Not willing to take any chances, Mission kept running until she arrived at a rotten log, and retreating into the safe haven, she got her comlink out and was about to call Dustil and yell at him for not coming with her when a huge green mouth crashed right next to her, making her scream in horror as the rotten log gave way. Mission frightfully opened her eyes and she felt all the blood rush away from her face as she saw a large, but proportionally small eye looking directly at her, as if peering into her very core. She tried to talk into the comlink, but only air came out of her clenched throat, she tried to move away but her legs were shaking too much and she had no control over them, she then tried to draw her blaster, but her hands refused to move, completely entrance by the snake less than a meter away from her.

"Hiss" the beast went as it licked the air around it, and immediately recognized the delicious Twi'lek next to it. "Hiss!"

"Ah… ah… ah… ah" was the only sound coming from Mission's throat as she slowly began to crawl away from the snake, she was almost halfway out of the log when the beast moved, faster than Mission had thought possible for a beast that size to move. The head of the green snake disappeared and came crashing down where she had been less than a second ago, making her scream again as she managed to stand up and run away.

The snake recoiled it's head in pain and hissed loudly at her before it began chasing her again at full speed and now very irritated at the little blue moving snack, furiously smashing logs and crushing bushes, destroying nests and ravaging all life around it, completely intent on getting it's prey. It moved it's muscles at the same speed regular snakes did, but it was so massive it covered the same ground Mission did running at full speed. The green beast opened it's mouth and revealed the massive fangs hidden inside, each larger than the size of Mission's legs, glistening and almost trembling with the desire to unleashed the deadly poison they carried, not that it was necessary, a single bite would be enough to eat the tiny being in front of it, but better safe than sorry.

Trying to keep the tears from clouding her sight, Mission ran through the never ending woods, ignoring the sight of Kinraths, Tachs and any other animal she saw, focused completely on keeping herself away from the monstrous snake behind her, who hissed and growled at her, as if taunting her. She saw another log, this one much smaller and much sturdier than the rotten one, and she quickly hid behind it, hoping the snake would pass by, not noticing her. The Rutian Twi-lek jumped over the fallen log and curled up in a tiny ball, and for a second, she felt a tiny amount of relief as the monstrous behemoth passed next to her. Her relief was short lived though, and she soon saw with the corner of her eye as the green muscles stopped moving for a few seconds, before recoiling and heading her way. She froze, every single muscle in her body stopped moving, her heart barely kept pumping blood, her lungs almost stopped changing oxygen into carbon dioxide, and even her stomach stopped digesting her breakfast. She had never felt so much fear in her life in a single moment, but watching the gargantuan snake next to her, slowly lifting it's head in the air, as if to give her a better view of her killer, made her feel more afraid than anything she could possibly begin to comprehend. She watched every inch of the beast. She admired the sturdy green scales that covered it's upper body. She inspected the muscles on it's jaw as it slowly opened it, revealing the hidden fangs once again. It grinned at her, the snake actually grinned at her, a sick, sadistic, grin, and for a split second she thought it was going to eat her for the pleasure of killing her, not because it was hungry.

"Please" she feebly pleaded without moving as she closed her eyes, to what, and for what, she was not sure, maybe she prayed to some celestial deity above to save her, to kill the snake, or at least drag it away, maybe she prayed for Aspyre to show up and kill it, maybe she prayed to see Dustil one more time before she died, maybe she was just going insane with the huge injections of dopamine and adrenaline filling her brain. She took a deep breath, well deep considering the circumstances, and it took her a few seconds to realize that the Anakkona had not eaten her yet. Extremely cautiously, she opened one eye and slowly lifted her gaze, travelling through the muscular form of the snake and landing on it's massive head. It was still grinning, but it was not moving. It would occasionally shoot it's tongue, but it did not moved. Mission stayed still, petrified would have been an understatement, to say she looked like carved out of stone would have been more accurate, although still far from reality, with time rock would crumble into dust, but Mission was standing so still, so quiet and so firm, that millennia could have passed and she would remained in that position, her survival instinct overruling everything else.

For how long the two beings remained at a standstill in that place of the Shadowlands, just waiting for the other to move, nobody knows for sure. For how long did the air currents sweep around their bodies, slowly caressing them in a vain attempt to relax their muscles, it is impossible to determine. For how long Mission just stood there, watching her own life pass before her eyes, watching every single traumatic moment, every single happy experience, every single scary instance, although they all paled in comparison to this one, every last second she had been with Dustil, every day she had spent with Big Z, every funny conversation she had had with Aspyre, every fight she had gotten with Carth, every second of hearing Canderous' war stories, every last moment of playing Pazaak, and even all the times she had spent listening to Bastila's lectures, nobody will ever know. What is known is that the Twi-lek girl matured years, entire decades in that time, she became much wiser, she appreciated the little things she had passed by as mundane before, like breathing, she understood many things now, she was finally able to let go of her teenager egocentrism and understand her companions even better, she understood Malak a little bit better, she was able to see many flaws in the political system of the galaxy, she was able to understand things that had baffled her before, that she had dismissed as boring or uninteresting. Mission Vao grew during those seconds, minutes, hours; she grew to a great extent. And then the last tiny part of her that had not let go of her past, the tiny part that held resentment for her brother, the last minuscule and insignificant fiber that still hated Griff Vao ceased to exist, and Mission Vao died.

"_I wonder where I go. Is there really an afterlife? Never growing old, never fading away, never worrying about anything… I hope it's true" _was the dying girl's last thoughts.

00

Aspyre saw with horror how the snake crashed through the foliage and chased after Mission, licking the air around it noisily. She felt a cold, damp fear rising in her throat, and she pushed herself to her limits without using Force Speed. She would have loved to focus on her legs, but the damn Shadowlands had so many obstacles, so many things they had to dodge or cut or crash through, that using it would be suicide. Hell, they have been able to outrun the Anakkona in a second. Dustil ran even faster than her, his worry extremely apparent in his young face.

"It-"

"I know!"

"We have t-"

"I know!"

"There's no way to-"

"I KNOW!" she yelled at the boy as her brain raced at speed that placed even Dustil's sprint to shame. She inspected the massive wall of vegetation between them and their friend and a few feet away she noticed a place where it seemed only slightly thinner, not by much, but it was their best shot. "There!"

Dustil ignited his red blade and began hacking and slashing wildly. In a slightly more controlled move, Aspyre took out both of her lightsabers and ignited all three blades before she hacked at the vegetation, slowly but surely opening up a path through. A few seconds later they heard Mission screaming, a high pitched shriek that carried pure fear into their hearts, and cursing loudly, Dustil fired a bolt of lightning at the forest, igniting the vines and setting the whole thing on fire.

"Dustil!"

"No time!" the boy yelled as he jumped through the ring of fire before Aspyre followed her. She landed right next to him and she looked to her left, where a massive trail of destruction led them to where Mission was. The two Jedi were now free to enhance their legs with the Force, thing they did as soon as they realized the snake had cleared most of the path for them. The two blurs raced down the Shadowlands, crashing against anything that stood on their way and jumping over those few things they couldn't, and they finally reached a point where the destruction stopped. Looking directly ahead they saw a single fallen log that had somehow escaped the butchery the Anakkona had done, but what really drew their attention was the massive Anakkona looking down at the log. It was big, even by its species' standard, it had to be over forty meters long, and about six wide, it's black pearls shining even in the darkness that surrounded them.

"Slowly now, we don't know where Mission is" Aspyre cautioned the boy, but shaking his head and turning his lightsaber on again, the boy charged and fired another bolt of lightning at the beast, who recoiled in pain and let out a shriek of agony as it thrashed it's head around wildly, crashing against entire trees and bringing them down, and making their ears bleed with the amount of decibels the scream reached. The beast opened it's eyes and locked them on Dustil, who was in the middle of jumping up to slice at the snake's head, and shaking it's head, it slammed it against the flying boy, and sent him flying across the Shadowlands. Aspyre started moving to help him, but the Anakkona locked on to her and raced towards her, knocking away the single log in the process. Aspyre jumped up against a nearby tree and rose in the air, coming face to face with the beast, concentrating with all her might before it closed it's jaws on her, she managed to find the animal's shatter point, and with a swift move she made the beast calm down and forget it's hunger. The snake closed it's mouth in surprise, confused at the fact it no longer had the desire to eat the tiny being in front of it, and after remaining still for a few seconds, was overwhelmed with the desire to go back to it's home and sleep for the rest of the day. Without even waiting for her breath to return to normal, Aspyre quickly jumped up again and located Dustil, getting up and slowly making his way towards her.

"Where is it?" he asked her as soon as she was within his shouting range.

"I sent it home."

"You didn't kill it?" he asked her, extremely surprised at her response. Aspyre shook her head and the boy let out a sigh. "So it lives to hunt us yet again."

"It only was hunting us because it was hungry, relax, it'll eat a few dozen Tachs and it's be full. It'll have no reason to hunt us."

"I still would have preferred to kill it. Where's Mission" he asked as he held his side in pain.

"I can sense her, but I can't see her" she said before her comlink went off. "MISSION?"

"I'm here" a dead voice came from the other side.

"Are you okay?" she yelled at her. "Where are you?"

"By the log" was the only response. Aspyre and Dustil ran at full speed towards the downed log, and found Mission still cuddled into a ball, looking at infinity despite the beaming grin in their faces.

"Mission!" Dustil yelled as he crouched near the girl and hugged her tightly, although she did not return the embrace. "Are you okay? What's wrong, are you hurt?" he added when the girl did not respond to him and merely stood up and walked back down towards where the snake had gone. Dustil and Aspyre exchanged worried glances before the two of them followed her and stared at the girl cautiously.

"Mission? Is something wrong?" Aspyre said as she laid a hand on the girl's shoulder, which she swiftly, but not harshly, brushed away.

"Mission... I've never liked that name" she said in the same dead tone as she looked up at the trunks of the trees. "It's all so stupid, you know?"

"What?"

"Fighting Malak, the Jedi order, Bastila, my brother, this… quest to find the Star Forge… the living conditions in Taris, the slave trade going on right here, the Sith, the Republic's inability to defend itself, having to rely on people like you… It's so stupid."

"Mission, what are you saying?"

"I never liked that name" the girl repeated as she directed her dead eyes at them. "Everything could be solved so easily you know... just give up."

"Give… what?"

"If everybody simply accepted Malak's rule, there would be no need for fighting, there would be no need for him to rule with an iron fist, but nobody would ever question him… He would remove the Republic's faulty political system and he would bring everything under one flag, which would stop the discrimination against other races, because they would all be slaves under Malak, or whatever force was in control. As for Bastila, you seem to be doing fine with Canderous… We really should just give up…"

"Mission what is with you?" Dustil said as he grabbed her shoulders and stared into her lifeless eyes, shaking her and trying to get some response from her.

"Just give up, Dustil; it's the easiest way for everybody."

"You're starting to sound like your brother" Aspyre said, appealing to the hatred that the girl had, but even that failed to gain a response from the Twi-lek.

"And look where he is now, safe in Tatooine, instead of almost been eaten by a snake, or killed by wookies or Kinrath or Sith soldiers or Dark Jedi or smugglers… he has an easy life. He has always been the smart one."

"She's just shaken up" Jolee said as he climbed through the foliage and walked towards the group.

"What?"

"Do you know what happens to a Twi-lek brain when it's scared?"

"No, what?"

"It releases monstrous amounts of dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline, just like human brains do, but because their brains are not concentrated like ours are, the effect is even stronger in them, scare a Twi-lek enough times and he'll shut down one day."

"Oh" Aspyre guiltily said as she recalled the time she had yelled in her ear. "How many times?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know that? I barely know the girl as it is! But she's young, she'll be fine… I think. But she's in no condition to fight, much less follow us, maybe you should take her back to my place, and wait for us there" he instructed Dustil, who after receiving silent approval from Aspyre nodded, picked Mission up and began running back without saying a word. "Relax, by the time we return she's going to be back to her bright cheerful self."

"I hope so" she muttered as she turned around and followed Jolee even deeper into the jungle. It was a quiet trip, no longer did they encounter any animals, as most had been driven away by the noise created from the Anakkona, and they easily made their way into the heart of the Shadowlands. There was a large clearing, and a very tall figure towered under the roots of a tree, angrily wielding a very thick double bladed sword. "Is that Freyyr?"

"Yes, that is him, although I'm afraid that the years he has spent in isolation might have driven him mad, mad with grief that is."

"Grief?" she asked Jolee as they slowly approached the grey haired wookie.

"Yes, he-" Jolee began, but was interrupted yet again when the wookie roared in anger at the sight of the two humans walking towards him and charged towards them, true fury in his eyes.


	26. Aspyre Venar, Nice To Meet You!

Chapter 26

"Freyyr, stop! Don't you recognize me?" Jolee yelled at the savage wookie as he blocked his mighty blows and dodged those that were much too strong for the older man to block properly. "I helped you a few years ago! When the slavers where cashing you!" he kept talking while Aspyre stood in the back, Sith lightsaber ready and waiting for Jolee to give her the sign to take over. The old wookie gave no sign of even listening to him, and he furiously kept slashing at the tiring Jedi.

"It's not working Jolee!" Aspyre warned him as he jumped away from the wookie, who immediately gave chase. "Try hugging him!"

"What?"

"Hug him! As a sign of friendship!"

"I find that a little hard to do right now!"

"I got an idea" she yelled as she turned on her lightsaber and began taking off her armor. She unclipped her cloak first, and once she had folded it nice and square, she unfastened her chest plate and her shoulder and arm pads, making sure that her feminine curves could be seen from even a far. Hopefully this crazy wookie still remembered a few of their traditions. She placed her lightsabers next to her armor and robe and walked over to where the two men were fighting. "Chieftain Freyyr?"

The wookie stopped his attack and turned around, almost bringing down his blade on Aspyre, but suddenly stopped when he realized that it was a female standing in front of him, an unarmed female, her hands shaking with fear. With a feral growl he turned around, dismissing her as not being a threat, and focused on the dark skinned slaver behind him, but to his surprise, the slaver had turned off his strange weapon, and merely looked at him with calm eyes. Had he been duped? Was the female trying to thrown him off track? He briskly turned around and held his blade in defense position, but no attack came from her, or the slaver. Now he was really confused, and for the first time in years, he opened his mouth not to scream, but to speak.

"Who are you?" he asked, hoping they would understand.

"We are friends, Freyyr. Do you remember me?" Jolee responded, and the wookie turned around, scanning his face and searching his memory for the first time. A single entry popped in the computer of his mind, the Hairless One, Jolee Bindo was his name, he had aided him when he first came to the Shadowlands, and he always helped the wookies that came down here any way he could.

"Jolee Bindo, I remember you now. I am most embarrassed by my actions, for far too long I have been met with hostility that I long have forgotten how to be civilized, please, I beg your forgiveness."

"Ah, don't sweat it; I would have done the same thing if I was in your place."

"May I ask, what bring you here, so deep into the heart of my beloved Kashyyyk?"

"I have come here because I am helping a friend" he said as he pointed to the now fully armored Aspyre, who smile and cheerfully waved at the wookie before bowing to him.

"Hello! My name is Aspyre Venar, nice to meet you!"

"I am Freyyr of the town… Just Freyyr" the old wookie responded with only a hint of sadness coming from his growls. "What is your business, here, human?"

"I am not part of Czerka if that is what you are asking. I have, in fact, come to end all slave trade in Kashyyyk."

"It is good to hear that at least you have enough respect for my planet to call it by it's name, but you will understand if I am skeptical of your intentions, for far too long have I been betrayed and lied to."

"I understand. Allow me to explain why I am here. I came to Kashyyyk looking for something called a Star Map, located in the Shadowlands. The only way for me to access this holy ground was for me to agree to work with Chuundar, who in holding my friend Zaalbar hostage. He made me promise that I would kill you."

"It pains me greatly that my own son is bent on my own death, but it should not come as a surprise, after what he has done to his own kind and to me, I have come to expect the worst from him, if only I had listened to my son Zaalbar sooner, maybe all of this would have been avoided… You said he is your friend?"

"Yes, he follows me on my quest to find the Star Forge because he has a life debt to me."

"A life debt… My son must see some good in you… So what is going to happen now? Are you going to kill me, like my son demands?"

"Killing you, mighty Freyyr, is the last thing I could possibly want. I only wish to end the slavery in here and continue on my journey, the entire galaxy depends on the success of this mission. I am really hoping that we can solve this without any more bloodshed, but your son's and Czerka's arrogance and greed make that something I do not think I can accomplish."

"It is true; I don't think that is possible. But if you really wish to aid me, then I ask of you one thing, help me regain my former glory, my position as chieftain, so I can drive Czerka out of my village and hopefully my planet, but even more important, so I can make peace with my son."

"What do you want me to do?" Aspyre said with a bright smile covering her entire face, one so big and cheerful that it brightened even Freyyr's mood.

"Bacca's blade has been a symbol of respect and honor among my people, he who owns it is greatly respected and revered, Chuundar might have turned my people against themselves, but I hope that the blade will still hold some value. There is a beast in the middle of the Shadowlands, that holds the blade, embedded in it's flesh, where one of our ancestors left it following a great fight with the creature."

"You want me to retrieve it?"

"That is your only option, other than killing me" he half told, half offered her.

"I will take my chances with the creature" Aspyre said as she and Jolee started walking away after bowing down to Freyyr. "Dustil, come in."

"Dustil here" a crackled voice came from the other side.

"Dustil how is Mission?"

"She's fine, she has just been sitting there, I have been trying to talk to her, but she says she wants to sit quietly for a while… Something is definitely wrong with her, but a few minutes ago she started cleaning her blaster, and now… she just pacing back and forth."

"Mmm, can she fight?"

"I… I think so, but… I don't think that is a good idea, Aspyre."

"We don't have a choice, Dustil. I think we are going to need a lot of help with this… My gut tells me something, but I hope I'm wrong."

"… Fine, we'll be right there."

00

Dustil crouched on top of a tall branch, a freshly dead Kinrath's corpse hanging down below him. He casted a worrying glance to the bright blue alien crouching down on the hill, her cold, dead, calculating eyes overlooking the wide clearing, waiting for the moment to attack. Both Aspyre and Jolee were standing close to her, undoubtedly as worried as he was. They were going to repeat the strategy they did last time, and they hoped that it would work, because the satin left by the Terentarek was even larger than the one left in Korriban.

"Here it comes" he whispered to himself as he saw the woods to the west moving around in a very suspicious matter.

The vicious beast crashed through the dense foliage, attracted by the smell of the fresh kill just waiting for it to eat. Dustil shuddered as he saw the creature that emerged from the vegetation, the ones in Korriban were mere babies compared to this one. His powerful legs would have been capable of crushing entire buildings, it's massive arms would have easily crushed them like they were twigs, but the thing that made this Terentarek stand out from the rest had to be it's horns. Most of them had horns about the size of their thumbs, however these horns were much, much thicker, and they were darker, much yellower, and they were so large, at least two meters long. The Dark Sider went directly for the corpse, and after grabbing it, it stuffed it down it's throat without even chewing. Mission narrowed her eyes and pressed the detonator, activating the twelve thermal detonators stuffed inside the Kinrath. There was a large explosion that engulfed the mighty beast, sending it to it's fiery doom… Or at least it was supposed to, but the humongous beast must have felt some discomfort in the stomach, because it growled in anger and looked around for whatever had attacked it. There was a scale of what was supposed to be normal, and usual Terentareks already surpassed it, but this one grabbed that scale and threw it aside so that it could stomp around unchallenged.

"Impossible" Dustil breathed into the comlink.

"It didn't work" Aspyre replied with that frightened little girl tone she adopted when the situation got out of her hands. The thermal detonators had been her idea, and it had done nothing but anger the beast.

"Lightning" Jolee said as he got up and ran around the beast's back. Dustil jumped off the branch and before he even hit the ground, he unleashed a furious barrage of lightning that rained down on the Terentarek like an unholy barrage of disciplining hell. To Dustil's surprise, the elder Jedi closed his eyes and after focusing for a second he unleashed a second wave of Force Lightning down on the beast, who roared even louder than before, furious at the beings that were electrocuting him.

"Aspyre, we need help!" Dustil yelled as he felt his strength begin to leave his body.

"I… I can't! I…"

"Lass, we can't hold this thing for long!" Jolee said as he forced his hand even more.

"But I-"

_"Do it, you idiot!"_

"What?" she asked out loud.

"What?" Dustil shot back.

_"Do it!"_

"I can't!"

_"DO IT!"_

Aspyre felt like a stranger inside her own body, which technically she was, and she watched as she jumped up in the air and landed in front of the beast's head, absorbing Jolee's and Dustil's Force Lightning before she brought her open palm down directly in the beast's eyes and unleashed a massive barrage of lightning that traveled across it's entire face, and entered the Terentarek's eyes, slithering into the brain and slowly cooking it to a burnt crisp. She felt as the blue and white lightning ran from her fingertips, swept through the air and came into contact with the beast's body, slowly increasing the temperature around her and burning it into submission. She saw how the Terentarek slowly began to crumble under the pressure of the three attacks. The beast fell on it's knees and screamed at Aspyre, loudly complaining and begging for her to stop, but something inside her clicked, she knew that she had to kill it, she knew that it had nothing to hope for but death, and she pressed her attack, despite the fact that the two other Jedi had already stopped. With the corner of her eye she saw Dustil yelling at her, but she heard nothing, only the crackling of the lightning, she saw the wind moving around the forest, but she did not feel it, only the burning sensation in her fingertips. Everything slowed down, and she watched as the creature looked up at her with it's hungry eyes, trying to claw at her, trying to do anything to stop the pain inside of it's head, but soon the last of it's strength failed the monster and the tiny glimpse of life left his eyes, and it crumbled forward, almost throwing Aspyre off with the resulting earthquake.

"Damn" Jolee said as he dusted off his hands.

"Is Revan coming out?" Mission asked blatantly.

"No… I'm fine."

"Coming out?" Jolee asked with a questioning glance at them.

"It's a long story" Aspyre breathed out as she jumped off the Terentarek and walked over to it's side, where a huge blade had been driven into the beast. "This is it."

Aspyre pressed her foot against the monster's side, as if ready to kick off, and grabbing the blade by the bluntest edge, she pulled with all her might, releasing the blade from it's fleshy prison, a large torrent of green liquid gushing forward as she did.

"Come on, we have to give this to Freyyr and head back to Chuundar, Zaalbar is waiting" Aspyre said with a grin on her face as she did her best to hold the blade without cutting herself. "Here, Jolee, grab it from this end, make sure you don't cut yourself, I'll be right there."

"The star map is just that way, lass" Jolee said as he took the blade and the group started walking back to the wookie.

00

"Statement: HK 47 is ready to serve, Master!" the droid happily stated when Aspyre called him to her side as tensions began to increase between the roaring Chuundar and Freyyr.

"This is not going to end peacefully" Mission said as she upholstered her blaster, even though she didn't pull it out just yet.

"Agreement: I concur with the blue meatbag, Master. I would be most glad to terminate hostilities right now, I am certain that your wookie friends would appreciate it" the droid said, skillfully attempting to appeal to Aspyre's inner heroine.

"Not yet" she told both of them.

"Supplication: I would be most grateful towards you if you gave the order for me to shoot those aliens, meatbag" HK softly told Mission, who looked at him with an indifferent face, and nodded.

"HK, shoot Chuundar, the Czerka officers and any wookie that wants to keep Kashyyyk under their control" she coldly commanded him.

"Response: Orders received, complying!" he yelled before Aspyre could stop him, blasting a very large hole on Chuundar's chest, and making several dozen wookies and Czerka officers very upset. Aspyre would have yelled at him to stop, but she was much too busy deflecting the numerous blaster shots being fired at her and Jolee, while Zaalbar furiously screamed and clawed at the Czerka security officers that were unlucky enough to be right next to him. It ended in less than four minutes, with numerous humans and wookies dead, although Dustil, Freyyr, Zaalbar, Aspyre, Jolee, HK and Mission were luckily unharmed. "Proud Statement: All targets terminated!"

"HK! I ordered you not to kill unless our lives were in danger! You fired first! Why did you do that?" Aspyre furiously reprimanded the droid.

"Justification: I was simply following orders, Master. You ordered me to follow the commands given to me by the little blue meatbag. I was simply complying."

"Mission?"

"He was a slaver, besides, it was the fastest way to finish the job" she said as she holstered her blaster and leaned on the wall, moving her stare from Aspyre to the vast depths of Kashyyyk, as if nothing had happened and she was just waiting to return to the ship. The dumbfounded Aspyre simply stared at the once innocent teenager with her jaw wide open, the girl who at one point been childish enough to play pranks on them, having just ordered the cold blooded murder of a few dozen sentient beings and simply staring into nothing and breathing as if she was sleeping with her eyes open. She was only fifteen, and yet, Aspyre could see how her soul, her aura… it wasn't the same… it was like Canderous', or Carth's, more concentrated than before, and… hurt somehow.

"Father!" Zaalbar roared as he walked over to the grey haired wookie and hugged him tightly, a very human expression for affection, one that Freyyr had not been expecting from his son, but that he allowed.

"My son, I apologize for all the grief I have caused you, your exile is my shame, not yours" he roared once they had separated. Freyyr looked down on Chuundar's corpse, and slightly winced. "It is a shame, but there was no other way, Chuundar's greed was so great, I can't understand how I did not see it before."

"Do not blame yourself father. I too was reckless once, although my exile has helped grow and I have returned, stronger than ever" Zaalbar comforted his father.

"My son… what will you do now? There is much work to be done here before we can call ourselves free. I would be honored if you stayed by my side."

"I wish I could stay, father. But alas, I have sworn a life debt to this human, Aspyre Venar. Now that my life is my own once again, it is all the more important for me to honor that debt."

"Listen to my son!" Freyyr roared to the newly arrived wookies, awed at the sight of Bacca's blade joined once again, and in the hands of a mad claw, no less. "Spread your knowledge, and soon the entire world will come to respect and admire Wookie wisdom!" and turning to face Aspyre, he added. "Aspyre Venar, you are a very honorable person, you have showed me that not all outsiders are the same, that there are still those among the infinite stars that have a sense of honor in them. You have my eternal gratitude, and I wish for you to tell me if there is something I can do to repay you."

"Please, mighty Freyyr, all I ask is that you use all your strength, all your might, and all of your knowledge to make sure something like this never happens again, the sight of your people in shackles broke my heart in more pieces I can count" she replied as she bowed down to him, pushing her concern with Mission's sudden change of personality to the back of her head, right next to the growing headache. "No reward is necessary, thank you."

"Father… there is something that I want, if you would allow me to ask for it" Zaalbar shyly asked, and after seeing his father nod, he continued. "I wish to have Bacca's blade."

"Mmm… I am tempted to say no, but maybe I should see it as an investment… Very well, I give it to you my son, with the certainty that I will see it again when you return to take your rightful place in our beloved Kashyyyk."

"I will father, I promise. I wish we could stay, but we have a pressing mission that we must see through."

"We have much work to do here as well; I will send climbers to the nearby towns and inform them of our situation, we will not tolerate the presence of offworlders for another second."

"Driving them out, will you, my friend?" Jolee asked Freyyr as he crossed his arms in amusement.

"Indeed my friend, I will send them forward right away, if you wish, you can go with them, in order to make the trip less dangerous for all of you."

"We will, it is time we left. Farewell, Freyyr, I hope that your town and all of Kashyyyk remains safe and prospers under your leadership" Aspyre said as she bowed once again and together with her companions they departed the throne room. As they crossed the town, they were surprised when the wookies no longer showed them the cold attitude they had before, but rather they looked at them with new found respect in their eyes.

"Dad?" Dustil spoke in the comlink.

"Dustil? How are you guys? How long until you come back? The ebon Hawk is starting to look and feel very small, and I think the Czerka guys are not very happy with us here."

"Oh, don't worry about the Czerka guys; we got some backup coming up."

"Backup?"

"Keep an eye out for some wookies, when they start fighting Czerka, you might want to give them a hand."

"Wait, what?" Carth yelled, understandably confused at his son's sudden words.

"Czerka was slaving the wookies, we're helping them revolt."

"What does it matter" Canderous butted in. "Just yet ready to shoot, Republic! My guns have been quiet for far too long" he said before he turned off the comlink.

"Go!" Jolee yelled as they opened the gates and the group, along with four wookie warriors headed straight for the space port. Czerka's slaver days were over. "Let's focus on helping the wookies in our way and getting quickly to your ship, this is their fight, not ours!"

"But many wookies will be killed, we have to help them" Aspyre complained.

"You have your own mission, lass, let the wookies save their home world; you got a galaxy to save!"

Grinding her teeth, Aspyre shook her head and followed the older Jedi. They crossed most of the way unchallenged, but when they arrived at the space port they found the wookies engaged with a very large amount of Czerka officers, who were using the Ebon Hawk for cover against the wookies' primitive bow casters. It was like watching a Republic task force subdue a primitive colony, but at least when that unlikely event was taking place the Republic used stun blasters to calm them down, unlike the Czerka blasters that where punching holes on the poor wookies chests.

"GET DOWN!" a yell came from the Ebon Hawk, and Canderous stepped out the ramp, wielding the biggest gun that Aspyre had seen him with, it was his standard Mandalorian repeating turret, but it had a few extra things, such as a large cannon attached in the upper part, what seemed like a grenade launcher under the barrel and a few more buttons on the side of the gun itself. Without waiting for anybody to actually move, Canderous squeezed the trigger and let loose such an infernal volley of red hellfire like Kashyyyk had never seen before. He didn't even aim, he just opened fire on anything and everything standing in front of him, slowly decimating the Czerka forces and after a few mere seconds, making the last few of them cower and surrender at the sight. "Finally… I was getting bored" he said as Aspyre got out from behind the wooden pillar she had used for cover, which was about to break, and despite the fact that Canderous had only aimed at it for a fraction of a second, a few dozen blaster marks were present on it's weakening structure. "Where to?"


	27. Broken

Chapter 27

Carth had seen a very large amount of ships, space stations, and lunar facilities, but he had never, ever in his entire life, seen anything as massive and breathtaking as what his eyes were registering. There was a huge ball of light that covered most of their view, making the lush green planet behind it invisible to everything except for Carth's trained eyes. It looked like a star, but it was not bright enough, it looked like something had made it smaller and much duller than what was expected. But it was not the humungous sphere of light and heat that amazed the veteran pilot; it was the elongated metal object that was connected to it by a thin thread of light, what seemed to be some kind of space station. There were multiple capital cruisers surrounding it, and hundreds of freighters and fighters swoop around it, barely outside the Ebon Hawk's enhanced sensors.

"The Star Forge… I've never seen anything like it" Carth breathed as he observed the gargantuan space station. He saw a small glow coming from it and a few seconds later a freighter emerged from it, and immediately joined the rest in a perfectly aligned formation.

"That's how they got such a large force" Aspyre said. Nodding, Carth quickly remembered what he was staring at and began typing on his control panel.

"I'm sending our coordinates to the Republic, maybe a swift strike now that they are unprepared will be enough to cripple that thing." A single minute had not passed before Carth felt the ship tremble in a very unusual way. But they were still way outside the range of the enemy's sensors, which meant it wasn't them. He had just checked the engines, the cabling, the gravity generator, the hyperdrive; everything was fine, what the hell was going on? "I'm losing control! The ship's not responding!"

"What?" the nervous Aspyre yelled at him as the Ebon Hawk's engines stopped working.

"I'm losing power, I can't keep the ship going, we're going to crash!"

"What the hell is going on?" Jolee grumpily asked as he walked over to the pilot's seat, holding the sides of the seat to steady himself as the ship slowly began to drift towards the planet under them.

"The RMI is going insane! The gravity generator is almost gone, everybody hold on to something! The planet's gravity is pulling us in!" Carth yelled through the intercom. "The landing gear's not responding, this is going to be a rough landing!"

"What can I do to help?" Aspyre said as she did her best not to fall off her chair.

"Grab that!" he said as he tossed her a portable controller. "Keep us leveled! Damn it, we just lost the CAS!"

"What is that?"

"It's bad! Shields are gone! We're going down!" Carth desperately said as the ship entered the planet's gravity field and began spiraling down towards the solid rock. "Aspyre, you have to level us, if we go down on a nose dive the ship's going to burst into flames!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!"

"The distance measuring gear is gone! I'm going to have to play this by ear" he said, mostly to himself. "Aspyre we need to get leveled! The ground proximity warning system is gone too! Damn it!"

Carth could feel the ship beginning to tremble wildly as the nose slowly began getting hotter and hotter. Mighty as the Ebon Hawk was, not ship was designed to enter atmospheres at these speeds; much less without shields to disperse the heat, and the nose was beginning to suffer. They were still in the stratosphere when Carth heard a thick metallic sound coming from the back of the ship, followed by the very unpleasant sensation of air being sucked out. Carth ignored the few systems still active that told him the hull had been breached and did his best to ignore the watering in his eyes as he began recognizing the landscape. It was much too rocky; they would be unable to land in there. He needed to find something much smoother, plains, a beach, a city, anything that might allow him to belly dive into the ground as smoothly as possible, although using the term smooth in that scenario was more than an oxymoron. Carth maintained the Ebon Hawk as stable as he could, trying desperately to find a landing zone.

"There's no more power! I can't keep us leveled!" Aspyre cried in despair as the ship stopped its somewhat regulated decent and instead began nose diving straight into the ground, sending all kinds of objects, including Jolee, aboard the Ebon Hawk flying and almost making Carth loose his grip on the controls.

"I got it!" Carth yelled as he managed to catch a tiny glimpse of a medium sized beach only a few kilometers away from where they were, although without any instruments it was really hard to tell. Something inside him clicked, and he realized it was their best choice to land there. "Remember our crash in Taris?"

"How could I forget? I thought I was dead for sure!" Aspyre shot back as she tightly strapped herself into her chair and held on for dear life.

"I wish we were in that situation right now!"

"Carth, the nose is too steep! We're not going to make it!"

"Shut up!"

"You have to pull up somehow!"

"Shut up!"

"Carth, the ocean, land in the ocean!"

"The ship will lock down, we'll drown there!"

"I can use my lightsaber and get us out!"

"It'll short circuit in the water!" Carth heard Jolee yell just outside the cockpit. So that definitely wasn't an option. Their only choice now was the beach, maybe the sand would help ease the blow, but at full nose dive it was most likely to be their very itchy and uncomfortable grave.

Doing his best to fight the growing fear inside of him, he held the joysticks tightly and pulled the ship up one last time when he calculated they were two hundred meters away from the ground. The ship slightly pulled up, but it was still not enough to belly dive, they were definitely going to crash.

"I don't think we're going to make it" Aspyre heard Mission's calm voice from behind her. She turned her head in surprise and found the Twi'lek girl holding on to her chair, looking at the sand with peace in her eyes.

Aspyre was about to reply that they were going to make it, but something very heavy collided against the back of the ship, sending it forward even faster that what it already was before the golden dust filled the cockpit completely, ensuring that this was the last flight of the Hawk.

00

"Master, the Ebon Hawk has crashed down."

"Good. Revan will undoubtedly come to you, wait for her and when she arrives, kill her."

"Yes, my lord."

"And Bastila… Failure is not an option, Revan must die in Rakata Prime, or you will."

"…Yes, Master" Bastila replied softly as Malak's figure disappeared from the screen. Gripping her new red blade, Bastila opened the cockpit of her ship and jumped outside. The temple of the ancients was the tallest structure in all of Rakata Prime, and it gave her a vast view of the surrounding landscape. To the north was the base of the Black Rakatas, located to the east was the Red Rakata complex, and to the west, the beach where she had made Carth land. It had been so easy to trick that simple minded pilot and made him think it would be safer to land in the beach than in the forest only a few kilometers inland. Bastila watched as the trial of smoke got smaller and smaller as the remains of the ship powered down until finally it stopped sputtering smoke. "I'm waiting, Revan."

00

There are various levels of pain. There's slightly painful, mildly painful, painful, very painful, seriously painful, excruciatingly painful, arm-chopping painful, please-kill-me-now painful, and then there was your-ship-crashed-against-sand-and-now-you're-buried-alive painful. Dustil was currently feeling the latter. He had not realized what was happening until his father had yelled over the speakers something about losing power. He had quickly made his way to the women's quarters, hoping to find Mission, but it was empty and he had been forced to remain there when the shaking had become too much to even stand up. He had grabbed all the pillows and placed them around his head and neck, hoping to reduce what seemed like an imminent impact, and grabbed on to the wall using his right hand, firmly holding himself in place, but even that had failed when the ship crashed on the ground. The piece of wall he had grabbed on to had been ripped off and he crashed against Bastila's bunker, hitting his upper back and sending intense shards of pain down his entire spine and across all his body. For a second he feared that the blow might leave him paralyzed, but thankfully, he supposed, he felt scorching, searing, blindly pain all over his body, with meant his nerves hadn't shut down.

With a groan he opened his eyes and slowly began to stand up. It took him a while to comprehend that he was standing on the wall, and after imagining several different scenarios that could explain why he was standing on the wall, he chose the one that said the ship had crashed.

"Dad!" he yelled as he slowly began climbing using the bunkers as steps, the control of his limbs slowly returning for the exception of his right arm, which was fully functional. "Mission! Aspyre! Are you guys okay? Canderous!"

"I'm here kid. What the hell happened?"

"I think the ship crashed" he said as he climbed on the hallway. The Mandalorian jumped down from the hangar, and landed right next to Dustil. The two of them walked over to the main room and jumped down. Dustil did his best to try not to crush something, and successfully landing on the wall, while Canderous landed on top of the food synthesizer, crushing it completely under his massive frame. The sand had somehow managed to get inside the ship, and the golden dust had filled the cockpit to the point that Canderous and Dustil were standing on top of it, at the hallway's entrance.

"Where's Venar?"

"The cockpit!"

Canderous and Dustil exchanged worried glances. Dustil began lifting piles of sand and throwing it to the side, while Canderous jumped inside, slowly shifting down while the kid kept using The Force to shovel the sand out.

"Venar!" he cried out loud, hoping that they weren't hurt too bad; they did have a fight to fight, after all. "Venar!"

00

The sand was everywhere. She hated sand. It got everywhere, it was rough, it was coarse and it itched like hell. Aspyre managed to create a Force bubble around her, and after a little struggle, she managed to create a large space where sand was not allowed. She opened her eyes and saw that she was still buried up to her neck in sand. Carth was to her left, with his eyes closed and his head hung to the right, a few stray hairs hanging over his closed eyes. Mission was behind her, but she couldn't see her, only feel her. She took a deep breath and extended her senses. She felt Canderous on top of them, slowly moving towards them. Dustil was above, using The Force to push away the sand. She felt Jolee trapped inside the communications room. T3 was in the hyperdrive, and HK was moving towards the exit.

"Carth! Carth!" she yelled at the unconscious pilot. She focused on his mind and slowly began creeping inside Carth's head. "_Carth wake up!"_

"What? I… What happened?"

"We crashed…"

"Is this sand?" he said as he tried to direct his unfocused gaze to the yellow dust surrounding them.

"Yeah. Canderous and Dustil are fine, I think. They're trying to get us out."

"How do you that?"

"I can sense them, Canderous is moving closer to us and Dustil is moving the sand out of his way."

"How far away are they?"

"Should take them a few more minutes."

"Mission?"

"She's next to us, but she's buried in the sand. She's still alive, but barely."

"Can she breathe?" he weakly asked her.

"I don't think so" Aspyre nervously replied. She had tried talking to Mission as well, but she had not responded.

Aspyre and Carth heard the shuffling above them that indicated that Canderous was right above them and after a few more seconds, the heavy Mandalorian boots appeared on the "ceiling" of their bubble. Canderous fell down in the middle of the bubble, facing Aspyre and breathing heavily. He immediately knelt down and tried to pull Aspyre out, but she stopped him harshly.

"Behind me! Get Mission!"

Without wasting a second, Canderous began digging with his fingers at the sand near Aspyre's neck, roughly pushing it out of the way. He dug furiously and finally, he was greeted by a small blue arm, which he pulled out roughly. The small blue girl came bursting out of the sand, coughing weakly. With a single strong pull, Canderous pulled Mission out and held her in his arms, talking to her.

"Hey, kid! Wake up!" he almost yelled in her face. Mission softly opened her eyes and weakly replied to the loud Mandalorian.

"What?"

"She's fine, Republic Jr. will take care of her, give me a sec" he said to them as he threw Mission up the hatch. She rose on the air for a few meters before she slowed sown and gravity began doing its job, but instead of falling back down, she slowed down, and slowly began rising towards where Dustil waited for her.

"Take your time" Carth spluttered as he did his best to avoid the sand Canderous' boots were pushing up his mouth.

00

It had taken a lot of strength to pry the door open, but after pushing with all his might, Zaalbar had managed to rip the hatch open and step out of the Hawk. It was a very strange planet. There were downed ships everywhere, with pieces sticking out of the sea and others crashed against the beach or in the mountains. It looked like a space ship graveyard. Despite the large amount of destruction around him, there was a lot of vegetation growing, the sparkling sand ended abruptly after a few meters, making way for the thick grass and rock that paved the way away from the beach, into the mainland.

He turned around and saw Dustil carrying a weakened Mission out the hatch. Rushing back, Zaalbar took his friend from the boy's arms and gently placed her down on the sand as he turned back into the ship.

"Mission?" he softly purred. The girl moved her head a little bit, but did not respond. The young wookie softly patted her head and waited for the rest to come out of the ship. Jolee came out a few seconds later, followed by Dustil, who was half carrying his father, and Canderous who was carrying Aspyre like one would carry a sack of junk, thrown over his shoulder. "What happened to her?"

"She was in the cockpit with us, I think she hit Aspyre's seat and crashed against the wall before the sand covered everything" Carth softly explained.

"Is she going to be okay?" he almost roared at them.

"I'll check her, relax Zaalbar" Jolee reassured him before he knelt down and began inspecting the girl's body, quickly healing whatever injures he found. "I'll take awhile, but she's going to be fine."

"Thank you" Zaalbar softly said before turning to check on Aspyre. It had been reckless of him, but he should have checked on Aspyre first, he had, after all, a life debt to her. But seeing Mission hurt like that almost made him forget his life debt altogether. "How are you, Aspyre?"

"I can't feel my legs" she replied once Canderous had half thrown her, half placed her down on the ground. "Thanks."

"No problem" he roughly said before he entered the ship again.

"They're broken" she said as she touched them and sadly realized she couldn't feel anything. "I think I damaged my spine on the blow."

"Dustil!" Zaalbar roared at the boy, who shook with surprise and fear. "Carth is fine, help Aspyre!"

"But-"

"Go" Carth ordered him when he saw his face. Dustil turned around to face his father, and after seeing that his injuries were not _that_ serious he stood up and walked over to Aspyre. "What happened to you?"

"The seat belt. It sucks, that's what happened!" she angrily yelled as she furiously punched her knees in an effort to make herself feel something, but only her fist hurt.

"Hey, relax. Let's see how bad it is."

Dustil moved his hand over Aspyre's back, slowly checking her injuries; he quickly fixed a few scratches he felt on the surface before digging deeper and checking her spine itself. It had been severed clean. There were literally no connections between her lower nerves and the spine itself. But they were still in time and Dustil slowly began repairing the severed connections.

"There are too many ripped nerves, I'll call Jolee. He's almost done with Mission."

00

The group slowly walked towards the mainland. Their progress was very slow, Aspyre was still getting used to feeling her legs again, and Mission was hurting all over. Canderous and Zaalbar were in front, checking the left and right flanks, while HK and T3 were checking the rear. Jolee and Dustil carried Aspyre and Mission, while Carth walked on his own, and slowly they made their way towards the mainland, hoping to find someplace they could rest. They had been attacked twice today, and the group was very tired. They needed to rest.

"I think we're fine here" Jolee said when they were near a small cave that barely held them inside.

"It's tiny" Dustil commented.

"Only Venar, Republic and the kid need to stay here, the rest of us can go and see if we can knock out whatever made us crash" Canderous stated before he turned around and checked the surrounding area. Dustil set Aspyre down and Jolee placed Mission next to her. Carth remain on his feet, but he leaned on the rock wall. Zaalbar refused to leave, and he began patrolling the area. HK remained with them too, his sensors immediately scanning the area hoping to find any hostiles to blast.

Canderous, Jolee, T3, and Dustil quickly turned around and began searching the area for either a ship they could find, or anything suspicious that would help them in any way.

00

"Did you send the message?" Aspyre asked Carth.

"Yeah, seconds before we crashed. I just hope they didn't receive it."

"Why?"

"Why? Seriously?"

"They're going to crash, like us" Mission softly said, her eyes still closed.

"Exactly… I don't know how long it will take them to respond, but I hope they can knock out that EMP field before they do."

"Are you sure it's an EMP field?"

"I can't think of anything else that would cause everything to fry like that" he angrily said. Aspyre sympathized with him. Despite technically being her ship, Carth adored the Ebon Hawk, he had worked a lot on it, he had gotten to know it like the back of his hand, and know it laid there in the beach, half buried in the sand, with no possibility of getting it out. Maybe the Republic would be able to, but there was no way they could do it now.

"We can get the Hawk out of this later, once we have finished with Malak and the Star Forge" Aspyre softly said, hoping her words would somewhat soothe the brooding pilot, but they bounced back at her. "Do you want to sing?"

"What?"

"Sometimes, when I'm feeling sad, I like to sing, or whistle or hum a happy tune, would you like to sing?"

"No."

"I think you would feel better if you did."

"I said no, Revan!" Carth angrily replied, before he cursed himself and sat down, hoping his words had not stung her as much as he thought. He cautiously opened his eyes and realized they had not stung her as much as he had thought… they had stung her much more. The small blonde girl looked like she was cast in stone, her bright blue eyes were no longer shining like they used to, her long blonde hair, wrapped around her chest seemed to have lost its glow, her smile froze and transformed to a tiny sad frown, she looked at the veteran pilot with soft, hurt eyes for a few seconds before she closed her eyes and looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry" she whispered.

Carth wanted to apologize but he was tired of it, tired of sticking his foot in his mouth and then apologizing, only to stick it in again. He had been heavily trained since he was 16 years old, he had been trained to handle situations that would make others vomit with fear, he had been trained to fly any space ship that he got his hands on, he was trained to perform maneuvers that many previously believed that only non-humans could do, but he had never been trained to deal with a woman that behaved like a child that had a murderous Sith Lord inside of her. He decided to just shut up.

00

"What do you think of this place?" Jolee asked the only member of the group that was remotely close to his age.

"I don't like it. It looks like a battlefield, but everything's too green. I don't like this place, something happened here, or is happening and I don't like it. We should find the field that took the Hawk down and get out of here, I don't care in what ship; let's just get out of here.

"And here I was thinking I had seen it all, but it's the first time I've seen a frightened Mandalorian."

"You bet your ass I'm scared, this place is completely off. I would rather be stuck in a Kinrath nest without my gun than spend the night here."

"Yeah I know what you mean. I've seen some strange planets, but this one tops the list by far. The energy here, it's strange, I can't feel anything around myself. Like these bugs that fly around us, I can see them, but I can't feel them. Which makes me wonder, what else can't I feel?"

The trio was quiet for a while, until T3 started beeping wildly, rotating its head quickly.

"T3 says there's a large energy field a few kilometers north of our position" Dustil translated. "It matches the energy reading he received before the Hawk went down."

"All right, let's hurry!" Canderous ordered them before he shouldered his repeater and started walking a little bit faster.

00

Aspyre had fought back the first wave that had reached them. She had pushed the strange aliens back while Carth picked them clean. The second wave had been much more difficult, she threw her red blade at them and it slashed across the first wave, but another group jumped from the top of the cave and had Carth not stepped back at the last second, they would have cut his head clean. HK appeared from the horizon, back from his patrol and began systematically shooting at the attackers, quickly creating a hole in their forces. Zaalbar roared from a far and began shooting at them with his bowcaster before they were upon him, moment when he switched to using Bacca's blade. Aspyre admired the large sword, for the hundreds of years that it had, it still was razor sharp, and Zaalbar cut through the aliens like they were made of dirt. The third wave had been the one that left Aspyre exhausted. She held them on stasis, while the rest of her team shot them, but they were so many, it drained her to the point of unconsciousness, she could have held for longer, but she could not risk Revan escaping again. HK had finished blasting the last alien when she heard the roar.

She could not see, but she heard it. It was above them, and by the look in Zaalbar's face it was very big. It was so big that HK holstered his rifle, quickly calculating that his blaster bolts would have no effect on it. She felt each step the beast took and she calculated that it was just above the entrance of the cave. It was going to jump and land right in front of them, and it would trap them. She held her breath for a few seconds, and she saw HK pulling out a few Cyroban grenades, he was going to immobilize the beast.

She felt as the ground shook. The beast had leaped. Time slowed down to a crawl, and she observed every last detail of the monster that was slowly appearing in her field of sight. Its skin was a dark yellow color. She saw only the claws on its feet, huge as her arms. A few nanoseconds late she saw the legs, each slightly smaller than Zaalbar. Then the beast hit the ground, and she was able to see it completely. It was huge, it was monstrous, and it was blocking the only way out of their tiny cave. It had a large mouth filled to brim with razor sharp fangs, excellent for devouring and ripping its prey apart. Each hand ended with thick, sharp but stubby claws, probably for holding its victim down. Despite its very muscular build, Aspyre could see its bone structure, as if it had an extra skeleton protecting it. She looked for a second over to HK and she was certain that she could detect a hint of fear on the droid's neutral facial plating. The beast roared and she landed her gaze on its face. Its small eyes like pearls were fixed on her figure, and she scrambled for her blue blade, igniting both ends and placing it protectively in front of Carth, Mission and her. HK threw his two grenades at the Rancor, and he screamed in anger when the blue liquid covered him and then froze, rendering his upper back and left arm useless. Zaalbar ran towards him and slashed his right arm, hoping to sever it with one blow, but even the mighty wookie was not strong enough, and his blade only scratched him. The Rancor roared again and swiped Zaalbar away, sending him flying against the stone wall. HK's circuits beeped for a few seconds a small rocket appeared on his right arm and aiming it directly at the Rancor's face, he fired.

The Rancor screamed when it felt the blazing heat and pain slapping him in the face, but he wasn't seriously hurt. He couldn't see, but millions of years in evolution had granted his race the ability to smell very well, and he could smell Zaalbar's thick sweat and fur, Carth natural scent, HK's rusted plate, the sand still slightly present in Aspyre's hair, and the unique smell of Mission's lekkus. HK attempted to fir another rocket, but the Rancor was too fast, and it smashed against him before the second rocket was ready. Aspyre pushed her lightsaber towards him, while Carth fired a few shots to distract him, but the Rancor was unfazed by his blast, and cleverly moved out of the way before the lightsaber could cut him in half. The throw was not for naught nonetheless, it slightly cut through the stomach and lower back, making it fall to its knees in pain just as Zaalbar jumped on top of its head and drove his blade inside the beast's skull, using all his strength to pierce the thick skull and split its brain in half.

"How the hell were they able to get a Rancor?" Carth half asked, half yelled once they made certain it was dead.

"I don't know… Maybe it was in one of the ships?" Aspyre suggested.

"That makes sense, there were hundreds of ships there, and maybe one was a smuggler's."

Aspyre felt her tensed muscles relax, despite the fact that she was still sitting down, but before they had a chance to completely unclench, another wave of the strange creatures appeared, this time much larger, and intent on taking them prisoner. Aspyre slowly stood up as Carth and HK shot at the attackers, slightly slowing them down. Zaalbar ran to her aid and helped her stand up. She thanked him and turned her head to the fight, the large group had split into two smaller groups, maybe forty aliens on each group. Carth and HK had each taken a side and they were holding their ground, but the aliens were too many for Carth's human reflexes, and they were slowly gaining on him.

"Z, help Carth, I'll try to slow them down a little bit" she ordered him once she felt she could stand on her own. Zaalbar unhooked his weapon and started shooting at the aliens closer to Carth, slowly pushing them back. Aspyre turned her head to the group that was almost on top of HK and with all her might she sent a mighty wave their way that knocked them down to their feet. The droid took advantage of the aliens' confusion and activated his flamethrower; scorching the first few rows of aliens before the rest even had a chance to stand up. An especially large one managed to jump out of the way and attempted to drive his blade on HK chest, but Aspyre pushed him down to the ground and sent him flying against the large group already recovering. She bought him a few precious seconds that the droid used to aim his rifle to the nearest aliens and blast a large hole on their heads. On any other situation, Aspyre would have felt a tiny wince of pain and regret at seeing the life leave their eyes, but when she turned her head to the right and saw yet another group charging towards them she felt her hopes drain. She fell down again, the pain in her lower back intensifying with the effort of standing up. It really hurt. It hurt worse than she could remember ever hurting, every single nerve was screaming, and for a few seconds, she wished that she went back to feeling nothing.

00

It would have been erroneous to say that Dustil was fit for battle, but it would have also been erroneous to say that he wasn't going to be able to fight. Apparently, the first group of aliens had thought that the young boy would be an easy target, and they had not realized their mistake until his red blade had pierced their chests and heads. His chest hurt immensely, his head was still blurry, and his legs felt extremely heavy, but the teenager kept slashing and shocking the aliens that tried to attack him. He turned his weary neck to the left and saw Canderous literally raining down hell on the poor aliens that had tried to surprise them. A large group was thrown around the place, creating a small trail of dead bodies that ended a few feet from the brutal Mandalorian. Jolee had gone up ahead to try to enter the temple, but so far it seemed like he had made no progress.

Slashing at the final alien, Dustil turned his head towards Canderous, who had taken out his knife and was walking towards one of the creatures that had been hit by his blaster bolts. It, or he, tried to crawl away, but before he even had time to move five feet, Canderous' blade was already comfortably nested on the grey matter inside his head.

"This is pointless" Dustil head Jolee say.

"Nothing?"

"No, that thing is sealed tighter than my wife's legs when she got mad."

"Only you have the charm to make anybody laugh despite how much they hurt, or how desperate the situation seems" Dustil complimented the older Jedi as he held his pained ribs. He could heal them, but the effort would exhaust him, and then it would not be erroneous to say his wasn't fit to fight.

"Let's go back, there isn't anything useful here, we can't figure out how to enter the temple, and I'm pretty sure there are more of these… things on their way."

"I'm pretty sure those things are sentient" Dustil said as he began to head back.

"You say that like it mattered."

"I guess not."

"Of course it matters" Jolee interrupted. "Every single-"

"I felt that too" Dustil said.

Grabbing Canderous' hand, Dustil and Jolee ran towards where they had left Aspyre, not one hour ago, hoping that their senses had betrayed them and that they were still there, but when they arrived they confirmed what they already knew.

Aspyre was not there.

00

It had taken a lot to convince them, but after realizing that she could understand the aliens, she had managed to stop the attack and agreed to turn herself in order to spare her friends. HK and Zaalbar had been vehemently opposed to the idea. HK because he wanted to kill the aliens; and Zaalbar because he had failed too many times protecting her during the course of their adventure, but after a few minutes, Aspyre had managed to get them to stay put in the cave. She had sent a tiny warning spark to Jolee and Dustil, but she was unsure if they had received it, she was very tired and hurt, and the way the aliens were roughly carrying her did not help. She admired the complex where the aliens had taken her, taking her to see "The One", whoever that was. He was apparently their best fighter, and in such a primitive society, it took only one leader to rule them all. She half registered the bright and peaceful feeling that she got from that place, similar to what one would feel in a beach resort, but instead of calming her nerves it only made her more nervous. And the creature here, those strange looking aliens, she couldn't feel them, and that bothered her, it made her very uneasy. The aliens dragged her down a long corridor with a small bridge that passed over a small lake. There was a single alien standing in the middle of a very large open room with no ceiling on it and four large cages on each corner. She peered on each one and was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of ship parts on one. On the second one there were two corpses on the floor, and another alien chained to the wall, he was wearing red robes, and looked fancier than the rest of the aliens. On the third cage there were a few weapons, armors and a medium sized hyperdrive. To her horror she saw two more of the "baby" beasts in the last cage. Two Rancors that seemed desperate to get out and even more when she entered the room. Not a pretty sight.

"Revan. You have returned" the alien in the middle of the room spoke. Aspyre froze and stared into his creepy eyes.

"What did you just say?" she spoke in basic, not being able to repeat the language with her current vocal cords.

"We thought you had forgotten about us. But I need to ask, why did you leave?"

"I'm sorry, but my name is not Revan… not anymore."

"You don't fool me, Revan. I recognized you the second I saw my men dragging you. And I have already been informed you have used your powers to kill have our army. I will not ask you again, why did you leave before fulfilling your promise to us?"

"Please believe me, I don't remember anything. I was Revan, but… it's hard to explain, but my memory is gone, I remember nothing, so any promises I made I cannot remember making them, or breaking them."

The alien, the Rakata, she remembered, stared at her for a very long time. At his command the pair that was lifting her by her shoulders dropped her, and she feel down to the ground, her spine groaning in pain again. Taking advantage of the silence of "The One" she closed her eyes and began sending healing waves down her back, slowly soothing the pain and repairing a few more damaged axons. She was by no means healed, but at least the pain reduced to the point she was able to stand up on her own. It took her a few minutes, but she finally managed to get up and dusted her white cloak, although at this point it was more brown than white, having spent most of its time in Rakata Prime, she quickly recalled the name of the planet, kissing the ground.

"I believe you. You certainly seem different" he finally said, and Aspyre softly smiled at him. "Very well, I will tell you of your time here. You came here about two of your years ago, I think it was? I can't remember very clearly know, you didn't bother to implant me with much knowledge of your culture. You came with your apprentice, Malak, you wanted to obtain the power of the Star Forge, and we agreed to help you, in exchange of you helping us, but once you had agreed to our deal, you never returned… Until now."

"I'm very sorry, I'm sure I was returning when my… accident happened."

"I highly doubt it."

Aspyre was slightly taken aback by his harsh response, but said nothing for a few seconds, until the empty almost dead gaze of the Rakata began to bother her.

"Why is that?"

"Because the terms of our agreement were never properly met."

"Could you… Could you please tell me what this agreement was?" Aspyre carefully asked, hoping with all her might that it was not something Revan would agree too, but her gut telling her that it was.

"Ah, yes I have not told you about that. The agreement was that we would allow you to access the temple of the Ancients, where the information that you wanted was, and in exchange, you were going to exterminate the Red Rakatas and bring us back their knowledge so we could rule the planet."

"W-What?"

00

_Sorry it took so long people! You know who things are, college this, college that: \. Anyways, Aspyre and Co. are getting near the end! They only have to deactivate the force field and take the mighty Ebon-… Oh… that's right. How are they going to get out of Lehon without the trusty Ebon Hawk? How are they going to fight the epic space battle above Lehon and how are they going to enter the powerful Star Forge? Find out next on the next chapter of Aspyre to More XD. I'm probably going to finish it on vacations (in two weeks) and then I'm going to focus all my energy on perfecting Ian's story (if you even remember that one) or on the new Aspyre Venar story, the one I told you guys about like half a year ago XD. Anyways, hope you enjoy this new chapter._

_Oh, FYI, the reason why Bastila is hardly mentioned is because the entire story is written with one purpose, to see how (pretty much) everything interacts with Aspyre, and how it changes her or how she changes it (in most cases it's the latter) so Bastila and Malak really don't matter, and you're going to see the point of all those flashbacks at the beginning of the story, they weren't just to make space (okay, maybe at first yes, but now I got a purpose for them ^-^ ). Is there still some Alek left in Malak? Let's see if Aspyre can make him come back, or if it will take Revan to bring Alek back. :o_


	28. Yourself Again

Chapter 28

They had treated her like royalty after she had agreed to help them, even although she did wasn't actually planning to go through with the plan, but once one of the Rakatas had insisted on her teaching him how to use the Force and going with her to the black Rakatas' hideout, her cover had somehow been blown, and every last Rakata inside that complex branded her a traitor.

It was going to be hell getting out. She could barely walk on her own, and the large number of Rakatas trying to kill her did not make her progress any faster. She had reached the bridge in the lake and thankfully, the thin space forced only one or two Rakatas to fight her at the time, and she easily began dispatching them, using the red blade to attack and using her double bladed blue lightsaber like a shield, floating it around her back and sides, spinning it as fast as she could, blocking the numerous spears that they were throwing at her. The tactic worked, and she was able to keep the enemies in front at bay while using her blue blade to protect her body from the projectiles and the few fools that tried to sneak behind her.

She felt her back beginning to sore and she began to narrow her moves in order to allow at least the interior muscles to rest while she fought. She had managed to kill the last of them in the bridge when she felt the pain in her back intensify again, spreading shivers all over her body. She fell to the ground, taking the few precious seconds she had to rest. Lifting her tired gaze from the ground, she landed her eyes on The One, the only Rakata that had not fought her, the coward. He had sent his men to die and like a good leader, he only watched from where it was safe. But he posed no threat to Aspyre and after standing up with great difficulty, she turned her back from him and began walking towards the outside of the complex. She had hoped that he would let her, after all, all his men where dead, but the universe rarely turned such hopes into reality. She heard the cages open.

Her body tensed, and she really, really hoped that he had opened the cage with all the ship parts. Alas, she was wrong; in fact he had opened the exact opposite one, the one holding the two Rancors.

She tried to run, she focused on her tired legs and sent them the impulses that instructed to run, but they were very sluggish and she only walked away, advancing slower than a tired Gizka pleasantly hopping back to its nest. The beasts exited the cages and turned to look at her, she could feel them. Not using the Force, no she was blind to all of them, but she could still feel them, something in her gut told her that they were staring at her, staring into her very core. She turned around and confirmed it.

It was deafening to hear a Rancor roar, even if it was a child. It hurt any sentient beings' ears and made everybody instinctively cover them, although that did little to comfort the blasting sound waves tearing through them. Very few people had actually heard a Rancor roar from up close and live to tell the tale, most because they were eaten, and a selected few because they went deaf after the rancor did. That is the reason why Aspyre had to hold her head together to prevent it from splitting in half when the beasts roared. That's why she felt the sound waves travelling through her body and making her teeth chatter, her bones tremble and her stomach turn inside out, spilling the few contents it had on the water next to her. Once the beasts had stopped roaring she wiped her mouth with her left glove and spit again, trying to make it look as impolite and rude as possible. It had the desired effect, and the furious Rakata sent the beasts after her.

_"Now you got what you wanted. What are you going to do?"_

_ "My plan didn't go this far."_

_ "Idiot. Are we going to die because of your insolence?"_

_ "No, I just need to rest for a few minutes, everything hurts."_

_ "Please, that's nothing. That body has endured much more than just a ship crash, believe me. How do you think you got that huge scar in your stomach?"_

_ "Well, a ship crash is all Aspyre Venar has endured."_

_ "Then let me take over."_

_ "No way."_

_ "I don't want to die, and neither do you, your best shot is to allow me to take control for a while, just enough to get out. I'm just thinking of my own safety here."_

_ "… Fine, but as soon as we're out of here I'm taking control back, by force if I have to."_

"My pleasure" Revan said out loud as she stood up, ignoring the searing pain in her back and focusing on the three pathetic beings that where in front of her. She had seen them the last time she was in Lehon and she had devised a very simple plan to take them out, she just hoped her body would hold out long enough to do it. She ran back to the large, open hallway, stopping directly where the corner began, and igniting her red blade she waited for the Rancors to come for her. "The girl has good taste, at least" she muttered as she admired the crimson glow and the elegant hilt her lightsaber had.

She moved faster than Aspyre ever did, faster than she had in Manaan, because this time Aspyre was not holding her back, but rather encouraging her. She felt as she regained complete control over her body and with a mischievous grin she did a quick summersault when the first Rancor swiped at her. As she expected the second one came rushing forward and thanks to the space she had, she was able to kick her feet off the wall and rise above both of them. The second rancor crashed against the wall and because of its angle, kept rushing down the hallway, away from Aspyre, who had just landed on top of the first one's head. She grabbed on hard to one of the bones of the Rancor's head and bringing her arm down in a wide arc, she shoved her lightsaber inside his eye. Now was the hard part, her blade wasn't long enough to reach the brain, so while she held on for dear life, doing her best to ignore the waves of pain that flooded her nerves, she controlled her blade with the force and performed a quick cut inside the beast's brain, severing all the connections between the frontal lobe and the rest of the brain. It was like flipping an off switch. Revan had done that many times, and she enjoyed every time she did, but it never seized to amaze her how the body simply turned into dead weight after she did. She felt the Rancor stop struggling and slowly it stopped moving and simply stood there, staring into nothing with its remaining eye. Smiling at herself, she saw the second Rancor coming back at her and once she intensified the anger inside of her, she sent a powerful wave of lighting towards it. She remembered Malak's betrayal, she remember what the Jedi Council did to her, she remembered the disgust she felt at herself when she was forced to go down on her knees in front of that disgusting Sith Emperor, and the sheer hatred she felt towards Aspyre Venar, and she felt how it intensified her power, how the small tentacles of light turned into thick branches of agony and crawled inside the Rancors' skull, how they surrounded its body, and how they finally overloaded every last nerve in its body and forced them to shut down.

The beast fell with a dry thump; its once white eyes turned a charcoal black, smoke rose from its carcass.

Revan turned her gaze back to the large plaza, where "The Terrified One" was. She smiled in pleasure when she saw his fear and with a flick of her wrist she pulled him towards her, choking him as she did. It was a pitiful sight, had Revan been capable of feeling pity, the alien squirming in the air, choking out a few words, begging for mercy, asking for her forgiveness. She loved it. She loved watching him squirm, just imagining the agony he must be feeling, the horror in his eyes, it made her feel so good, so complete, she feel stronger, she loved every second of it and she wished that he was even remotely good looking so she could kiss him, and feel how the breath left his mouth, how his life left him. She remembered the last time she did that, she had felt like she had sucked the life out of that girl; it had been the single most pleasurable experience in her entire life. She stopped choking him and pressed him down against the fried Rancor, wishing she had a vibroblade she could slowly drive into his stomach.

"Do you see that? Do you smell that? Smell it. I want you to smell his carcass; I want you to remember that smell for the rest of your life, however short it might be."

"Revan-" was all he managed to say before she threw him in the lake. She allowed him a few seconds of hope, she allowed him to have the foolish delusions that he was going to live. He swam down the lake, hoping perhaps to hide from her? Escape? No, there was no escape from Revan.

She walked and knelt down next to the lake. She took her left glove off, it was filled with puke anyways, and placed her hand inside the cool water. She smiled and bit her lower lip in excitement. This was it, the moment right before the kill, that made her shiver with excitement and pleasure, she was certain her brain was being swamped with endorphins; she could almost _feel _it being flooded. And then she sent the lightning.

00

Canderous kicked the door to the complex with strength that he did not know he had, the entire wall of stone feel down, and his leg hurt like hell, but his healing implant kicked in, and the pain subdued a few seconds later. He had expected to find a large force guarding her, or at least some patrols, but there was nothing. The place was desolate as far as he could see. He saw with the corner of his eye the droid entering the complex, along with Zaalbar and Republic. The little astromech had stayed behind with Republic Jr., the brat and the Jedi, fighting the large group near the entrance.

It was a shame he wasn't here, the little droid had become accustomed to Canderous' style and he found it incredibly soothing having him by his side. It was like a partner that knew what he was going to do, and he planned his attack accordingly. Ignoring the thought that would not help him now, he advanced to the right, keeping his body pressed to the wall despite HK's insistence that the complex was clear, he was not taking any chances. Despite keeping under cover from as many angles as possible they advanced quickly stopping only for a few seconds to admire the burnt corpse of a young Rancor. He turned his gaze up and for a second almost pulled the trigger to bring down another one next to it, until he realized that it had a large hole on his eye and seemed more dead than alive.

"Damn" he pronounced as he laid his gaze on the humongous pile of corpses through around a lake and all over the place. "Venar was busy."

"I don't think Aspyre did this" Carth cautiously said as he began looking everywhere. Severed head, burnt corpses, scorch marks all over the place, boiling water in the lake. "This looks more like Revan's work."

"Praise: Ah, my master truly is magnificent, only she knows how to bring death and horror in such a scale."

Zaalbar roughly brushed past them and began looking for Aspyre, angrily kicking headless corpses about. Eventually they came to the conclusion that she was not there and began searching the rest of the complex, turning over chairs and desks and furniture and urns and many other things that looked pretty expensive. They found her at last, caressing the dead corpse of a very small Rakata that seemed like an infant. It had no head.

"Aspyre" Zaalbar softly purred as he knelt down next to her.

"I couldn't stop her. She went crazy. She killed everybody."

"It's okay, it's not your fault."

"No… I let her out, I could have gotten out on my own, but I let her out and now…" she tried to keep going but her voice broke and rose to a pitch that nobody could possibly hear.

"We need to leave, the rest are holding against the aliens on the beach, but they need our help" Carth said as soon as he made certain there was nobody around.

"I can't. I can't kill anymore. I just can't" she said as soon as her voice lowered into an understandable pitch. It was strange seeing her like that. She was kneeling down on the floor, barely kept straight by Zaalbar's hand, the tiny headless corpse pressed hard against her chest. Thick tears flowed down her eyes and ended in her chin, until they feel down to the stained white glove laying in front of her.

"You go" Zaalbar told the two soldiers, feeling their impatience to get back to the fray. "We will stay here with her."

"Protest: Why do I have to stay? There are no enemies around here and I could be immensely more useful in the middle of the fight. Master I-"

"Go" Aspyre weakly said. HK thanked her and the three warriors ran back outside, hoping that the rest of the team had held their ground successfully.

"We can stay as long as you need" Zaalbar softly said as he patted her back. Softly for a wookie, but every pat felt like a mild blow on her back.

"Why can't I control her? Why is she so strong? I can't keep up with her."

"Don't think about that, Revan was the most powerful Jedi that ever existed, but she was completely stable in both body and mind. You have been forced inside a body that is not yours, and I am impressed with your abilities Aspyre, but don't beat yourself up thinking about things you cannot change."

"…You should have seen her. It was amazing."

"What was?"

"Revan. When I started to retreat, I could barely walk, the pain was unbelievable, I was certain they were going to kill me. And then she said she could help me. She said she could get me out. And as soon as I allowed her to gain control she killed those Rancors like they were nothing, she tortured and killed the last Rakata and then went around the complex, killing the last few living beings she found. She wouldn't let me come back. It wasn't until she killed… him" she said as she held the child's corpse even tighter against her. "That I was able to stop her."

Zaalbar said nothing. No words could be spoken at the moment; Aspyre thanked him greatly for his silence.

"I think the fighting subdued" he said once he noted that the blaster shots dissipated and the explosions became only a distant echo.

"Let's go. I want to check on Mission" she said as she lowered the boy on the ground and stood up slowly, her sore back acting up again.

00

Bastila felt a large wave that completely covered her and made her shiver. It was pure energy, it as a large amount of midi clorians concentrated in a single spot. She knew that midi clorians didn't just pop from nowhere, which meant they were already there, but something had occurred that had stimulated them, it had activated them and they were bursting with activity. She opened her eyes and stopped her brooding, something had happened… in the black Rakata complex that seemed to have activated the Force around it again. She stood up and ran towards the edge of the temple and she was greeted with what had to be the single largest battle that had graced Rakata Prime in a long time. The Sith reject was there fighting bravely, trying to protect Mission from the numerous assailants. Bastila felt a tiny pang of anxiety at the situation, but she quickly dismissed it and focused on the rest of the fight. T3 was shooting expertly, covering Canderous' flanks while the Mandalorian shot and stabbed anything and everything in sight. A Jedi with a green blade she did not recognize was there too. They must have picked him up in Kashyyyk. HK 47 was there, but Aspyre and Zaalbar where nowhere to be seen. They were probably inside the complex, which meant Aspyre must have been the reason the midi clorians went insane around that area. But it couldn't have been her, the energy had been extremely Dark Sided, there was no doubt of that. Bastila closed her eyes and grinned when she came to the obvious answer. Revan had awakened. She was back. She opened her eyes and sat down in the middle of the temple's roof, waiting patiently for her prey to arrive.

_"I wonder" _she thought _"how long Aspyre will be able to keep you locked, Revan. Will you escape once I call you? Or will her resolve be stronger than yours?"_

00

"He says he will lead us to the Red Rakata complex, where I will speak to the elders. If everything goes well, they will grant us access to the temple, from where the energy reading was coming from" Aspyre explained as she held the inexpressive Mission. "Then we can focus on finding a ship, I don't the Hawk is ever going to fly again."

"And where are we going to find a working ship? None of the downed ones will work, they were all hit by the same field" Carth pointed out.

"Don't bother her, Republic, let's just go" Canderous harshly ordered Carth and semi-playfully punched him in the shoulder. Aspyre was sure the crash she heard was not Carth's shoulder dislocating itself from its socket… well she hoped it wasn't.

"Thank you… ori'vod" she whispered to him once Carth was out of range. Canderous simply nodded and kept walking, looking straight forward. But he did not fool Aspyre, she had learned his body language, she had learned how he moved when he felt good, she knew what muscles twitched when he heard, or saw, something he liked, she had seen them plenty, and the same muscles in his face moved just slightly, and it took a lot of self control to not smile at him.

"What?"

"Nothing" she softly whispered to him before she turned her head forwards and followed the alien into the mainland for a few minutes and then down towards the beach again, entering what seemed like a hidden spot on the south side of the beach, further down from where the Ebon Hawk was.

"Wait here" the alien told her before he walked over to the entrance of what seemed like a rock structure built underground. He stood in the middle of an electric field and a hologram appeared. Another alien. After a few seconds the door opened and he quickly entered before it closed again. The hologram appeared again and this time addressed the large group. "Revan, please step closer."

Aspyre slowly did as she was told and began walking towards the middle of the electrical field, where she stood waiting for the hologram to finish analyzing her. The door opened and she quickly entered and faced her friends, how had a unanimous look of apprehension in the faces.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be back soon" she said to them before she focused on Canderous' face and blew him a quick kiss.

00

She was bored. She knew she wasn't supposed to be, but she really was. She had stopped her brooding a while ago, and now she was doing her best to keep Aspyre out of her mind. The sight of the unconscious Mission still haunted her, and she knew it was wrong. She was a Sith, she was not supposed to feel pity, regret or mercy towards them, towards her enemies. It was wrong and she knew that Malak would punish her again if he found out, so she did her best to suppress those feelings to think of something else while she waited for Aspyre to enter the Temple… it wasn't really working.

00

"Take good care of her, Zaalbar. Something is definitely wrong with her, but I know that she's still there, the Mission we know is still there, we just have to find a way to bring her back, and if there's anybody that can do that it's you" Aspyre requested him.

"I swear I will do my best. It has great weight on my heart seeing her like that."

"I know Z. Don't worry about me, worry about her okay?"

"Of course, Aspyre. Good luck."

"Thank you Zaalbar."

Zaalbar walked back to where Mission was and sat down next to her, patiently waiting for Aspyre to leave. He saw her walk over to Carth and speak very formally to him before she looked down at the ground and he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which seemed to cheer her up. She then walked over to HK and made sure he was programmed to follow Canderous' and Carth's orders, and then doing the same with T3. She then walked over to Canderous and stood on her tiptoes, her head rising a few centimeters, around the same height as Canderous' neck and she whispered something to him that made him smile softly before patting her twice on the right shoulder.

"Get going" he said, and she obeyed, moving her hips just a little bit more than what was necessary, despite the groans of protest her back gave her.

Zaalbar saw her enter the temple quickly once the Rakatas in the middle of the field that dissipated the force field that surrounded it, all traces of humor or amusement gone from her body. Zaalbar then turned his head to the little blue girl sitting next to him, but he could have sworn he saw two shaped blurs move to his left, near the temple's entrance.

00

"I should have known" she whispered as she felt Dustil's and Jolee's presence behind her.

"No way in hell you're going by yourself, lass."

"I guess not, but you two should not have come in here… The Rakatas are going to be very mad at you two!"

"Let them, we have a galaxy to save" Dustil said with a grin as he stepped inside the temple and opened the first stone door with a soft push. "Looks like this entire place is made of stone… And the only way to open the doors is by using the Force. No wonder the Rakatas were not able to enter it."

"Let's take a left" Aspyre said.

"Let's take a right" Dustil suggested at the same time.

"It's a symmetric temple, idiots" Jolee said rolling his eyes. "Left and right are the same thing. See why you need me?"

"Jeez, snappy."

00

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really."

"Do you want to sleep?"

"Not really."

"Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?"

"Not really."

"Mission…"

"What?"

"What happened to you?"

The girl was quiet at that. She wasn't sure herself, but she did feel empty inside. Like her body was merely a shell and there was nothing inside it. Why she felt like that, she could not remember.

"Mission."

"I don't want to talk about it Zaalbar."

"Do you want to play pazaak?" He hopefully offered.

"No, thank you."

"Mission… I'm worried about you. Something is missing in you."

"Zaalbar… can we just be quiet? I'm tired… and hurt."

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry" he softly purred before he stayed still next to her.

"Canderous. What did you get from the Hawk?" she asked after half an hour had passed. The mercenary wordlessly threw the pack he had brought from the ship to her and Mission started slowly rummaging it while Zaalbar observed.

She found a few spare blasters and some thermal detonators, nothing surprising there. She found a spare change of female clothes, probably for Aspyre, something surprising there. She also found her pazaak deck, a few med packs, a pair of night vision goggles and her old visor. That brought back memories. When was the last time she had used that? She remembered and for the first time since she had stepped on Kashyyyk a tiny smile crept on her face. She remembered what was taped in there…

00

Aspyre felt the pressure around her increase the second she entered the room. The room itself smelled like sweat, urine, blood and… something else, something she couldn't quite place her finger on. She felt pain in that room. Not physical pain, although there was plenty of that, but there was something much worse in there. Emotional pain, very deep scars had been made in that room. Somebody had been tortured there, both physically and mentally, and the wound remained. She entered it and saw the stone table with chains on it. The stone was soaked with blood, urine was pooled around it and a horrible stench filled the entire room and made her dizzy. She tripped over her own feet and stumbled forward, crashing against the stone table, and she felt it. She felt everything. She felt every last bit of pain that Bastila endured in that place. She felt everything overwhelm her and crash her down in the time span of a few seconds, she felt a huge pressure on her chest and she felt her body burn up before it froze to below zero. It was hell, and she felt her wounds become much worse. It was only when she opened her eyes and looked at Jolee's dark face that she realized she was on the ground. Her legs were kicking about, but she was unable to control herself. The pressure was too much, the pain was blinding. She saw Bastila's life; she saw every single last detail, every moment of sorrow, pain and regret that she had felt. She was able to feel how Bastila was raised, how she felt about it, her inner fears and insecurities, it was like being her. For a second she thought it wasn't so bad, until she got back to the room, and she felt Malak's torture on her very flesh like Bastila had, she felt him toying with her mind and trying to break her, she felt her resistance, and she felt the sorrow and regret of the killings she did in Manaan, and the regret she felt at disappointing Aspyre, at disappointing her. It was heartbreaking.

"Clear your mind lass!"

"What's happening to her?"

"She's living what happened here, we have to bring her back!"

"Why is she doing that?"

"She must have some sort of attachment to somebody that was in this room. Help me knock her out!"

Together the two Force Users concentrated on sending Aspyre to sleep, trying to get her brain to stop travelling through time, but Aspyre was too powerful, and they had to struggle for a long time before they were able to get her to stop.

00

"I forgot about this" she whispered once she had finished watching the video she had recorded, so many nights ago, laying in her bed in Tatooine, watching her two friends on the lower bunker. It felt like a life time ago, but she still remember vividly the rush she had felt at watching them, at recording them and that mischievous feeling she felt when she thought of all the way she could tease them with it. She then remembered her pranks aboard the Ebon Hawk, she remembered all the countless hours she spent playing Pazaak with Carth, Aspyre, T3, Bastila and even Dustil. Dustil. She remembered the day she had spent in the medical bay with him. And the days after that. It had been beautiful, she had loved it, and she managed to remember how she felt about him. She stood looking at the visor and looked over at Zaalbar. She remembered at the furry wookie and remembered what she felt for him, how she loved spending time with him exploring the under city in Taris. Then it hit her, the sadness she had felt when Taris had been destroyed, and the gratefulness she felt towards Aspyre for taking her with her, for protecting her, for taking care of her, for being her friend. Oh Aspyre, how she loved her, and how she loved her back. She had really worried about her all the time, she had taken care of her and she had enjoyed spending time with her so much. And now she was able to remember how she felt about it. Suddenly her wounds did not hurt that much, she didn't really feel empty anymore, and she didn't want to stay sitting around, doing nothing. "Big Z…"

"Mission?" Zaalbar asked her, surprised at the way she had said his nickname, the first time she had in a long time.

"I… I feel, better" she said, slowly stumbling over her words. "I… I feel much better."

"You had me worried, what happened?"

"I'm not sure…" she said, slowly remembering what had happened in Kashyyyk. "The snake, the Anakkona, it chased me; it was going to eat me. I was so scared. I thought… I thought" she explained, her eyes slowly filling with tears. She threw herself at her friend, the last wall crumbling around her. "Big Z! I thought I was going to die! I thought it was going to eat me!"

Zaalbar hugged Mission tightly, confused at the girl's sudden change in behavior and emotion. She was sobbing in his arms, but he could tell she was feeling better already.

"Don't worry, Mission. I'm here now. Don't worry…"

00

It taken a long time, but Aspyre had finally woken up. Dustil had been dragging her, scratching and ripping her clothing. She had almost jumped out of herself in surprise when she woke up and she realized her legs where completely exposed, her once long white pants had been ripped to shreds, and only her thigh pads were covering her legs. The same had happened with her cloak, before it had reached her ankles, but now it barely covered her back. She thanked Dustil for the help and apologized to both of them before she took off her cloak, threw it to the ground and ripped her shirt off, making sure that her breasts were not exposed and smiled at the two Jedi before she kept going and assured them she was fine.

Dustil admired her body, it was amazing how damaged it was and yet, how firm and held together it seemed. There were small, old scars on her legs, along with some new scratches, caused by the rough ground. She had a long scar on her stomach that started under her breast and continued down her leg and ended in her upper thigh. This woman had seen a lot of action, something didn't fail to miss.

"I see Revan didn't treat that body with much care" he said with a smirk.

"Yeah" Aspyre responded with a shy smile, suddenly self conscious of how much skin she was leaving exposed. "Some of these are my fault though… Well maybe they're not; I don't know what are really my memories and what is the Jedi Council's doing."

"I'm sure. Let's go, we opened the door at the entrance, now we can go to the roof."

"Why the roof?"

"The reading is coming from there. And we sensed somebody up there."

"Dark Jedi?" she asked already knowing the answer.

"Bastila" Dustil shot before Jolee had a chance to ease her into it.

"Then we shouldn't keep her waiting" she firmly spoke with resolve she really did not have.

The three of them walked over to the stairs and briskly ran towards the top, the bright midday sun blinding them for a few seconds before their eyes got accustomed to the change. Aspyre saw a lonely figure standing on the other side of the temple, next to a large space ship that seemed able to carry at least three people in it.

"_That should be a nice replacement for the Hawk" _she thought to herself.

"It should" Bastila said out loud.

"It's been a while since I've had to close my side of the bond. I thought you would take care of that" she said with a smirk.

"I've been waiting, Revan. I thought I was going to have to go look for you."

"Revan's not here right now sweetie, would you like to leave a message?" she said without any hint of a smile in her face. "I… I saw what happened to you… What you felt. I felt it too."

"There's nothing to speak about here. You're going to die here. I'm stronger than you Aspyre, we both know it. I'm stronger than I have ever been before!"

"The Dark Side is never stronger Bastila. But it's okay, I don't hate you for your decision; although I know that you want me to. I still love you, you know?"

"Spare me the sentiment Aspyre and bring out who I really want to fight."

"No deal. She will kill you if she does, you know that."

"I fought her off very easily last time. And I'm stronger this time."

"I was holding her back last time. And she's stronger this time. Just give up, Bas, we both know I'm stronger in the Force and I can easily beat you. Not to mention there's three of us this time."

"Please Onasi's boy? That Sith reject is hardly a challenge to me. And you" Bastila said, her sick yellow eyes landing on Jolee. "I recognize you now. Jolee Bindo. Your exploits are well known in the Jedi Temple in Dantooine. The years have not been kind to you I can see."

"I don't interact with Sith scum, sorry."

"Bastila… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that" Aspyre apologized. Bastila knew what she was talking about. She wasn't referring to the conversation just now. It was their last conversation aboard _The_ _Leviathan_. "I know what you went through, and it was my fault. I'm sorry."

Bastila remained quiet, silently walking a little bit forward towards her former lover. She did her best to hide her reaction, but in her effort to hide her body movement she forgot to close her side of the bond completely and a slight sliver of emotions slipped through.

"It's a shame the Jedi Council blocked Revan out. If she was at her full power Malak wouldn't stand a chance. But alas, Aspyre it if time for you to die."

"I know you still feel something for me Bastila. I know it. I felt it. I still feel it."

"You don't know. You couldn't possibly understand" she said with narrowed eyes.

She moved fast. Very fast. In the time it took for Aspyre to call her blue blade to her hand and turn it on, Bastila was upon her. With a swift kick she sent Dustil flying back against the wall and brought her blade down on Aspyre. Jolee attacked her but she blocked his strike with the second end. She had become stronger, although her muscle mass was the same, her attacks were packed with the power of the Dark Side. She brought off the contact and jumped back when Dustil tried to slash at her, sending a large wave against them as she did. Aspyre saw it coming and create a tiny bubble around her blocking the wave that sent Jolee and Dustil flying back.

She dashed forward, matching Bastila's speed at the cost of compromising her back, who groaned in pain again. She did a swift uppercut that Bastila predictably blocked and focusing on her right hand, she sent a quick jab that hit her straight in the throat, before Bastila stumbled back and Aspyre slashed at her, cutting off a tiny piece of her brand new Dark Jedi robe. Bastila responded with a twist kick on Aspyre stomach. Dustil managed to get behind Bastila and punched her back with his mechanical arm, sending shards of pain all over her body. But pain had become like another language to Bastila and the shards of pain only fueled her hatred and she became faster, slashing at Dustil mercilessly while dodging Jolee's desperate slashes like a dancer. Dustil had been the academy's brightest hope, but even their most promising student was not a match for Bastila's skill and raw power, and he slowly began to crumble under her assault. As for Jolee, he was having a hard time keeping up, he was able to fight against Non Force Users just fine, but having to fight against somebody so fast was not something he could do so easily.

It all happened extremely fast. Dustil jumped back to dodge one of Bastila's swipes and as he flew through the air, Bastila turned around and kicked Jolee right in the chest before bringing her blade down on Dustil, who barely managed to block the strike before it cut his head clean. But he was precariously near to the edge and Bastila was pushing him down, trying to through him over the edge. Aspyre tried to get there in time, but her spine was not healed yet and every movement hurt like a blaster bolt. She managed to grab Bastila by her shoulder blades before she pushed Dustil over the edge, but the young boy slipped and tumbled down. Aspyre felt her breath freeze in her mouth. She felt her heart stop, but she slightly relaxed when she felt he was holding on to the ledge.

"Listen to me" she whispered in Bastila's ear as she held her, both with her arms and in a very powerful stasis field. "I love you. Come back to me, Bastila."

"I hate you!"

"You want to be driven by lust? By fear? By hate? Fine. Then lust after me. Fear losing me. Hate those that hurt me. I know that you still love me; I can feel it both in our bond and in your beating heart. Please Bastila I need you, please come back to me."

"And Ordo?" she finally asked her.

"I… Bastila, I."

"You did forget how to close your side of the bond. I reached out for you. When I thought I was going to die, I reached out for you, hoping to feel you one last time. And instead… instead I felt you with him… With him!" she yelled at her, no longer struggling against the stasis field.

"You have no idea how I felt, Bastila. I was crushed, but I needed some kind of comfort, I would have broken down right there and then. But please understand that my heart only belongs to you. Please Bastila; don't leave me in the darkness again."

"And what about me? You left me in the darkness there!"

"I'm sorry… I really am, but I swear that if you give me a chance, I will make it up to you every single day of my life. Bastila, please come back to me, come back to the light."

"You come to me" Bastila said, in a last desperate effort to persuade Aspyre. "Let Revan come out, become yourself again. Together we can overthrow Malak and we can rule the universe, as Master and Apprentice. Just think about it, Revan."

"I will never betray the light Bastila" Aspyre said, almost like she was talking to small child that didn't understand a very simple term. "And I won't betray you. I know you too well. You don't want me to join you in the darkness; you want me to save you. And I will."

"Aspyre you fool!" she yelled before she used all her might to create a mighty Force wave that sent Aspyre flying back, colliding against Jolee, who had expected another attack and this time was prepared, and he held her in place. Aspyre quickly checked and made sure that Dustil was still holding on and watched how Bastila ran towards the ship, quickly entering the cockpit and starting the engines. But Aspyre wasn't going to lose her, not again and she jumped up on the cockpit as soon as it took off, barely holding on. She met Bastila's stern gaze with a compassionate one, and silently begged her to stop, but the former Jedi kicked the ship into full throttle and she slipped, falling off the ship with a loud scream.

She flew through the air quickly, the powerful winds making her eyes tear as she spotted the roof of the temple, it wasn't very far, and with a soft push she would be able to land there again. She calculated when she was close to it and sent a soft Force wave to her right and once she was on top of the roof, she sent another wave when she was a few feet from the roof, slowly cushioning her landing into a graceful decent, landing on her tiptoes.

"Lovers quarrels are always complicated" Jolee said as he shook his head. Aspyre remembered his wife and softly nodded in agreement. "I already turned off the field, the Republic ships ought to be safe now."

"Okay… let's help Dustil up and let's go."


	29. Condescending Suggestion

Chapter 29

"Hey you, lesbian!" Mission yelled as she jumped on top of Aspyre, wrapped her arms and legs around her and kissed her cheek repeatedly.

"Mission!" she yelled as she hugged her back and kissed her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling great, actually better than I have in a while" she confessed as she unwrapped herself and stood back on the ground. "Sorry I've been so down lately; I guess I wasn't really myself."

"No, please don't apologize sweetie, I've missed you so much" Aspyre replied as she hugged the little Twi-lek and softly caressed her lekku. "I really have missed you, but I think somebody has missed you even more."

"Mission?" Dustil breathed as he stumbled forward and almost fell down. Mission hurriedly hugged him and helped him on his feet. "How are you feeling?"

"Don't worry about me, sweetie. What happened to you? You look like hell!"

"I'm… I'm fine. I was… really worried about you. I thought…"

"Never mind that honey. I'm fine now and I'm really sorry I made you worry but for now, let's not worry, just… Just hold me okay?"

"Yeah… Can we sit down though? My legs are killing me."

"Well, I guess that's our cue to leave" Aspyre said as she softly nudged Jolee. "Where are Carth and Canderous? And T3 and HK?" she asked Zaalbar when she realized nobody was there."

"They found a ship, they have been repairing it for the past few hours, they should be done soon, I think."

"Thank you Zaalbar. Are you alright?"

"I am glad Mission is fine, and things are looking up. Maybe we can get off this planet soon."

"Hopefully. Thank you Big Z. I'm going to go help them, keep an eye on them, will you?"

00

"Just a few more hours" Canderous shouted over his shoulder as he used a blowtorch to seal a small gap in the ship's hull. Once he was finished he turned to face Aspyre and took off his goggles. "Republic's installing the hyperdrive with T3 and HK's calibrating the turrets. It's not pretty, but it'll get the job done."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Go to the cockpit and run a check on the ship's hull, I want to see if there are any holes left."

"Sure thing" she saw as she walked towards the ramp and headed straight to the cockpit.

Everything had been sealed shut, the turrets where ready to go, the shield was working up to 70 percent, the hyperdrive was installed and checked, the flaps were working, the landing gear was functioning, the communication system was ready, with it they could transmit 6 parsecs away at the most.

"It's the best we can do. We should get going" Carth said as he headed to the cockpit and began starting the ship up. "Get everybody, I'm going to contact Admiral Dodona and let her know what to expect."

"Yes, Sir!" Aspyre said doing a quick military salute, her elbow still a bit too high, Carth noted with a smile, before turning around and running out of the Ship.

"This thing needs a name" Carth thought out loud. He couldn't contact the admiral without having a name for their ship; she wouldn't accept his transmission… Well he had found this ship, and he had convinced Canderous to fix it, so therefore he should have the right to name it… But maybe he should ask Dustil. "_The Black Ark_" he breathed out softly. "Admiral Dodona, this is _The Black Ark _reporting in… That sounds good."

He heard a large amount of feet clanking against the metal railing and after a few seconds Aspyre's scream from the main room.

"We're here!"

"Everybody, hold on!" he yelled at the group. How he missed the Ebon Hawk's speaker system. "Let's see what _The Black Ark _can do."

00

"Admiral Dodona, this is Captain Carth Onasi, reporting from _The Black Ark,_ please come in."

"Carth? We read you. The first assault wave is here, reinforcements are on the way, they will be here in thirty minutes, but we need a plan, the Sith are pulverizing us and our bombers are not damaging the Star Forge."

"It's Bastila, admiral… she's… she's using her battle meditation against us. But we have a plan. With me is Aspyre Venar, a Jedi from the academy in Dantooine, she will explain everything to you."

"Admiral?" Aspyre said as she nervously stepped into view. "can you hear me?"

"Miss Venar, go ahead."

"We know that Malak is inside the Star Forge, if we can get to him, we can stop the Star Forge's defenses and then you can move in to attack with the Capital ships, the problem is, we need a squad to escort us inside the Star Forge in order to do that, do you have any ships you can spare?"

"Hold on…" The older woman said before she stepped out of the range of the holo projector. The small shape of Master Vaandar appeared.

"Master! You're alive!"

"Yes, Aspyre, but we have no time to celebrate. Your plan is a solid one; I have with me a group of Jedi knights that are going to try to penetrate the Star Forge with individual fighters. Admiral Dodona will send a squad of fighters to mix with them and hopefully create a diversion so they can enter. We will also send a strike cruiser to assist you, but we cannot escort you all the way."

"It'll have to do, Master" Aspyre replied.

"About Bastila" Vaandar inquired, and everybody could easily see right through Aspyre's veil when he said her name. "Do you think there is any chance of saving her?"

"I will never give up on her, Master Vaandar. I am certain I can bring her back, I just need more time. I even think… I think I can save Malak, but I just need time!"

"Time is something we do not have, Padawan Venar. Do what you can with the time you have, but once the Star Forge's defenses are down, the Capital ships will begin their attack, you have to get out of there as soon as possible, do you understand?" he carefully asked her.

"Yes, Master."

"Very well. May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you, Master."

Aspyre saw how the communication was shut off and she looked at the other side of the table in silence until Carth broke it.

"All right people listen up. This bucket of bolts is no Ebon Hawk, so where are going to need everybody that can get inside a turret and make sure this thing gets inside the Star Forge in one piece. Dustil take the lower turret, Canderous and Mission, take the tops ones, T3 I want you to help me navigate and administrate power. Zaalbar, go down to the engine room and make sure everything's working, if they shoot us, that's the first place that's going to be damaged, you need to fix that. HK help him. Aspyre?"

"I already got a job, Sir."

"What are you going to do?" he asked her as she began walking around in circles, looking for something.

"I'm going to sabotage Bastila's battle meditation" she said once she found the cargo hold. "I'll be ready when we land."

"Good, maybe with that we stand a chance" Carth said before he turned and headed back to the cockpit.

00

Dodona watched in her view screen how the battle was turning out. The prediction was not good, the Sith would cause crippling loses in ten minutes, and in twenty, the battle would be lost. It was not good, but maybe, with the Jedi's plan they might be able to stop Malak right there.

"Admiral, the Jedi fighters are ready to go."

"Send the escort squad in. Is the strike cruiser ready?"

"Yes, Admiral. _The Hammer _is awaiting instructions and ready to go."

"Then wait for confirmation from _The Black Ark _and send them too."

"Right away, Admiral."

"This is not good, Vaandar. The Sith are gaining ground on our right flank, pretty soon their going to break us."

"Now the situation is in the hands of those brave few, we have to hope for the best."

Dodona was about to point out that hoping for the best was not really doing anything to win the battle when she saw something interesting in her view screen. A small squad of Republic fighters that had been trapped too far away from the Capital ships to provide assistance had broken through the Sith's forces and where now swinging in to attack them while they were distracted. They nine fighters worked in perfect unison, each blasting a fighter out of the sky and in less than three minutes, they had destroyed over twenty Sith fighters, clearing a sector that had seemed previously lost. In other areas of the battle the situation was similar, previously unsynchronized units had regrouped and were pushing the offensive, and ships she considered lost were putting up a solid final defense before they fell, hoping to take out as many ships as possible before they went down. The battle was tipping to their favor.

"What is going on?" she asked dumbfounded.

"Aspyre" Vaandar said. "She's stopping Bastila's battle meditation. Now, Admiral."

"All Capital ships, order a full assault on the Sith Fleet! Send every last fighter available, every strike cruiser, freighter and bomber you have available, all batteries concentrate fire on the nearest Battleship! Now's our chance!" she ordered with a glint in her eyes. The fight was not yet over, and now it was their turn to strike. "Let's see what they can do without Bastila."

00

The ship was good enough, and Carth piloted it like the pro he was. Despite having just fixed it a few hours ago, _The Black Ark _was maneuvering like a dream and although it did not have the speed that characterized the Ebon Hawk, its shields were strong and they had more than enough power to get to the Star Forge in one piece. A few fighters had tried to catch them off guard, but Dustil's quick shooting had taken care of them, and they continued amidst a blur of blasts and explosions, desperately dodging proton torpedoes and hoping that one of those flashes had not been Jedi.

Aspyre had the toughest job of them all. Not only did she have to break through Bastila's side of the bond, she also had to get past her defenses and then stir her mind in an attempt to stop her from using her Battle Meditation. So far it had worked, but she was tiring and soon she would be forced to stop. She just hoped that Admiral Dodona would take advantage of the situation and deal as much damage as she could to the Sith Fleet. Bastila fought back, and she pushed again. Bastila tried to expel her, and she held on, all the while sending soothing and loving thoughts her way, hoping at least one of them would reach her, but she swatted them away angrily. She began sweating and she hoped they would reach the Star Forge soon.

Carth felt another blast rock the ship and after trying to decipher Zaalbar's roars, he realized the hyperdrive was suffering some damage, so no jumping to light speed for them, then. Focusing on the task at hand, Carth twisted the ship in a maneuver intended to do only in fighters, which succeeded in taking their pursuers by surprise, and the three fighters blasted forward, each picked clean by Carth's blasters. This was his element, and nobody could best him here. He felt safe here, traveling at hundreds of miles per hour, dodging energy bolts and picking enemies clean out of the vacuum of space, he was safe here, nobody could touch him here. He entered the same trance-like state he always did when he flew at insane speeds and in life threatening situations and he allowed his instincts to take over. He saw a large explosion in front of him and he realized one of the fighters escorting them had been blown up. The strike cruiser had abandoned them a few minutes ago, and now all that was left was the final stretch. Carth could see the entrance to the Star Forge. They were so close. So close. He felt the ship tremble as another blast hit them and a noisy alarm told him the shields were down to fifteen percent. It didn't matter, they were so close now, and Carth could see the first Jedi fighter landing inside the hangar, and a second one, and a third one. It was almost their turn to land.

Aspyre stopped. She couldn't keep going on, Bastila was very strong, and she felt like there was something else helping her. Malak? No, that wasn't it… She couldn't place her finger on what it was, but something told her that she was going to have trouble dealing with Bastila inside the Star Forge.

00

Zaphycort jumped off her fighter and ignited her blue blade as she did, observing the scene taking place in the hangar. A few other fellow Jedi were already engaging some Sith near their fighters, and three more were coming. But they were weak, she could handle them all, and as soon as her feet landed on the ground she dashed forward, cutting the hand of one before he even had time to react. With a hard push she sent him flying over the ledge and blocked a swift strike from the only female in their group. The second male tried to stab her, but she twisted her body quickly and kicked him on the back of the head before breaking contact with her other foe and jumping out of the way of her slash. She threw her blade at the groaning man and she cut him through the chest. Directing her blade with the Force, she clashed again against the woman and holding it in place, she ran towards her and kicked her blade in the hilt, pushing it forward and shoving it directly into her face. She didn't have time to scream before her life slipped through her fingers.

Closing her blade Zaphycort saw her colleagues finishing off the few other Dark Jedi that had arrived first. That had been the first test. The test of their strength. Next would come the test of their weaknesses, and inside this factory filled to the brim with the stench of the Dark Side, she was not sure they would be able to survive it. The ship carrying their backup had landed next to her fighter, almost crushing it in the process. It looked really banged up, and she was surprised that it still flew. The ramp opened and from it came a very… unexpected sight. A tall broad Mandalorian stepped out, carrying a heavy repeater and armed with numerous blades, side arms and grenades. An even larger wookie stepped out next, with a large double bladed sword and a bowcaster hanging from his shoulder. She recognized the third man, Jolee Bindo and she was suddenly not that surprised with the exotic group. A young Twi-lek girl stepped out, wearing a skintight black suit that had two blasters on each side of her belt, a blaster rifle on her back and numerous grenades on her belt. Her boot concealed a small knife, but Zaphycort easily spotted it nonetheless. Then stepped out a young boy. She was very curious about him, he also reeked of the Dark Side, but she felt no hatred in him, she felt lust, and fear, but no hatred, which was the only thing that stayed her blade. An older man stepped out, possibly the boy's father by the look in his face, wearing full Republic armor. His armor was decorated with the rank of captain and two large blasters were in his belt, as well as two smaller on his fore arms and what seemed like med packs on his legs. Then stepped another Jedi and Zaphycort felt her breath being taken away when she felt her presence. Wearing a ragged and immodest white Jedi cloak with thigh, arm and chest pads that were pretty much the only thing covering her body, which had numerous scars decorating it. Long, flowing, bright, blonde hair traveled from her skull down to her ankles, and two blades were hanging from her belt, a long double bladed one, and a shorter regular one. She wasn't very tall; in fact she was only slightly taller than the young Twi-lek girl. She radiated Force energy and she effortlessly pushed back the darkness around her, ignoring it when others would have crippled down in its presence.

"How are you?" she asked the group in general, although she already had an idea.

"We're here to stop Malak, you could say we're the front line infantry" the short Twi-lek girl said with a smirk.

"Aspyre Venar, Jedi Padawan. What my friend said here is true, we are going in to stop Malak and get Bastila back. You're our backup I guess" she shyly said. Zaphycort raised her eyebrow but ignored the offensive nature of the comment; they had more important things to worry about.

"Many more Dark Jedi are coming from the lower levels, I think it would be best if we held them here and you went to the upper levels, where Malak most likely is."

"Okay… Let's get going, the sooner we stop him the sooner we can leave this place."

Zaphycort turned her head at the sound of a large door being open and she saw about ten more Dark Jedi heading their way.

"You should leave now" she quickly suggested.

"HK I want you to stay with them. Follow…" she looked at her

"Zaphycort" the Twi-lek said quickly.

"Follow Zaphycort's instructions unless they contradict with any of my previous ones. Protect the Jedi from the Dark Jedi and Sith troopers as best you can, but don't get yourself killed okay?"

"Eager Reply: I will make those Dark Jedi know the true meaning of pain of horror, Master. Query: Will you be okay without me, Master?"

"Yes HK, don't worry about me."

"Thank you" Zaphycort said with a soft bow before she turned back and headed towards the fight. Now the odds were slightly in their favor. She didn't know what the droid was capable of doing, but the girl seemed confident in him, and he seemed bloodthirsty so maybe they stood a chance. They held the Sith for a long time, not letting them advance but not being able to finish them off either. She noticed that the droid had done nothing for a long time and when she turned her head to ask him why he wasn't fighting, she noticed he wasn't there. She looked around for him but her silent question was answered when ten blaster bolts resonated from the back of the Dark Jedi, and the ten crumbled to the ground. She looked over and saw the droid shouldering his rifle, a hint of smoke coming out of its barrel before walking towards the entrance and setting a very intricate web of mines that camouflaged in the ground before returning to them and standing silently next to them. "How did you do that?"

"Response: I have studied the way this Sith and Dark Jedi fight and I have killed a large number of them, it will be no problem for me to handle them. Condescending Suggestion: Perhaps you would like to return to your fighter, go back home to your meditation, and leave the killing to the professional, meatbag."

Zaphycort raised a very shocked and curious eyebrow. What the hell kind of droid was this?

00

They had split up in two groups, Canderous, T3 and Carth had turned right and were currently holding back a large group of Sith troopers that had appeared from a barracks to their right. Mission and Zaalbar had headed straight to the security room, hoping to hack into the security system and turn the gun they had seen against the Sith, while Dustil, Jolee and Aspyre fought of a small contingent of Dark Jedi. She had expected resistance of course, but she had never expected them to be this… feeble. She was barely trying, and even Jolee was handling them pretty good on his own. Right now he was fighting off two very young Dark Jedi that fought extremely recklessly, she noted, and by the looks of the green blade slashing at their heads, he noticed it too. Dustil was currently in the process of cutting a hole on the door that was blocking their way to the upper levels, but it was very thick, so progress was slow. The constant interruptions by Sith soldiers were not helping either. In a quick maneuvered, she kicked a Dark Jedi on his chest and sent another one flying over the railing, sending him to his death, before she took off her red blade and threw it at Dustil, who caught in midair and started furiously slashing at the door, creating scorching yellow and orange marks in front of him.

After Dustil finished opening the door, a new Dilemma posed to them. The way split in two.

"We can't afford to go back in case we are wrong" Carth said, having finished with the few remaining soldiers.

"We have to split up" Jolee reasoned, and Aspyre was forced to agree.

"All right… Jolee, you're with me, we heading right. Carth, you, Canderous and T3 head left. Dustil, wait here for Zaalbar and Mission and then follow us, the road looks heavier this way. Guys, if don't find anything interest or if it's a dead end, I think you should go back to the hangar and protect the ship, we _really _need that ship to get out here."

00

"Get those shields back online! And order _The Spirit _to rendezvous with us immediately!" Dodona fiercely ordered. They needed to hold for a few more minutes, and then seven more Capital ships would arrive to help them. After _The Black Ark _had landed, the Sith resumed their offensive, and only _The Spirit _and _The Jealousy _were still operational. She needed to be careful, a single mistake, a single false move and they would cripple their defenses before the rest of the Fleet could arrive.

"Admiral, another fifteen fighters came out of the Star Forge, along with three strike cruisers! They're heading our way!"

"Damn it! Order Gold, Red and Yellow squads to swing back around!"

"Yes, Admiral!"

"This is not good" she whispered to herself as she saw how Gold squad was torn to pieces before they had a chance to even receive the orders.

00

She knew she had to keep going. She knew she had to open the door, but something held her back. Despite everything that was occurring around her, despite the immense sense of duty that she felt, something was still holding her back.

_"You know you're going to have to kill her."_

_ "I will never kill Bastila!"_

_ "Then why do you delay? Every second you spend here is a second in which more of your soldiers die, not that I care."_

_ "Shut up!" _she ordered, and for the first time, the voice complied. She looked around her, as if she could somehow spot Revan standing next to her or something, but she saw nothing. She did a quick check where everybody should be. Canderous, Carth, T3, Mission and Zaalbar should be in the hangar fighting the lower levels of the Star Forge, along with Zaphycort and the rest of the Jedi. Dustil and Jolee should be also near the hangar, but a few rooms into the lower levels, forcing the bulk of the group to separate and reliving the burden from the main group. And Bastila… She paused for a moment, why did she include Bastila as part of their group? She wasn't part of the group right now; that was the problem… Shaking her head she looked down at armor she was wearing. It was brand new and she had requested it from the Star Forge's computer before Dustil and Jolee went back to the hangar. It was very comfortable and she felt like she was wrapped in the softest clouds while she wore it. Stretching her fingers and closing them again she felt how her light blue gloves wrapped tightly around them. She kicked the floor softly with the tip of her equally blue boots. Using both hands, she stretched and removed any creases she could see from her white pants and tunic. She fastened her sky blue belt tightly enough, but not so tight it was uncomfortable to move in and placed her white hood over her head, the long flowing cloak hiding her golden mane from the eyes of the enemy. For the first time since she left Dantooine she felt like a Jedi. She opened her eyes and stared at the door in front of her, a pair of shining blue jewels staring back at her that were not hers, yet they were oddly soothing. _"I needed that."_

_ "I know."_

_ "You're not so bad when you try you know?"_

_ "Oh, shut up" _Revan said, only half serious.

_"Are you ready?"_

_ "I was born ready; I'm just waiting for you."_

The door opened and the girl, the warrior, the child, the heroine, the sadist, the innocent, the savior, the conqueror, the murderer, the mastermind, the woman, the Jedi, the Sith, Revan, Aspyre, stepped inside the room, fixing her gaze on the lone figure sitting in the middle of the room.

00

Dustil opened his personal shield and managed to cover his face nanoseconds before the thermal detonator exploded, sending him flying back and stunning him for a few seconds. Thankfully Jolee had expected the move and he had already moved in front of him and was blocking the shots fired at him while he stood up. Only a second thermal detonator was thrown at them, and Dustil sent it flying back with the Force straight in the face of the soldier that had thrown it. That had been the last time they did that. As he turned his red blade on again, he gazed at the end of the hallway, it was actually cramped with Sith soldiers, there was literally no more room for another soldier, and many looked impatient, hoping to get their chance to be the ones that kill them. It was idiot, it was simply throwing numbers at them until they tired and fell, but it was typical of a leader that did not care for his soldiers, and Dustil actually pitied them.

_"Not very Sith of you" _he jokingly thought as he sliced the head off yet another idiot that had tried to cross blades with them.

00

Mission felt scared again, but she also felt excitement again and when she place the active thermal detonator inside that soldier's pants, she felt disgust at the thought of what was going to happen a few seconds later. She spotted Big Z, fighting off a few troopers in Red Armor and she ran to help him, shooting a soldier that was trying to stab Carth in the back as she did. She barely heard his "Thank you" scream as she slid on the ground and shot a few times at the soldiers surrounding her friend, who promptly lifted to her feet and thanked her.

"We should get up there!" she said as she pointed to the nose of _The Black Ark. _"That should give us some cover, Big Z!"

"You go first, I'll cover you!" Zaalbar said as he grabbed his bowcaster, placing a nice shot in the middle of a Sith's chest.

She ran to the back of the ship and began climbing, quickly reaching the nose and aiming her rifle at the foes near Zaalbar giving the time he needed to run towards her. After making sure Big Z was safely climbing in the back of the ship, she turned her gun towards the entrance, where Zaphycort and Canderous were fighting off the first soldiers that entered. The tactic was working actually, Canderous and Zaphycort distracted a large number of Sith, while Mission, Zaalbar, Carth, T3 and HK picked the rest clean. It was the only way that they could make it through this, but the eight other Jedi accompanying Zaphycort had died, one of them protecting her, she remember with a lump in her throat. She felt Big Z lay down next to her and the two of them began firing like snipers at their enemies.

00

Carth felt really nervous. He was nervous about the space battle going on around him, he was nervous about his son being down there surrounded by enemies, he was worried about Aspyre, he was worried about Bastila, he was worried about them and he was worried about the fact that the power levels in his blasters were starting to run a little low, but he didn't let any of that get to him. He had to fight, and he had to fight as precisely as possible, he had already gotten sloppy once and Mission wouldn't be around to save him again. How had that happen? It was outrageous, it was insulting! A Sith trooper sneaking up on him? He half regretted not being able to fight in space; where that would never happen to him. And for a second his mind clicked. He could go and fight, the Republic was fighting a losing battle, while they were relatively safe inside the Star Forge. He could… grab one of the fighters and go fly. He could be more help there. And they were holding their place pretty good, in fact he had only shot two Sith troopers in the past minute, he was not doing much here. Grabbing his comlink he turned it on and switched it so it would transmit to all the channels.

"Can everybody read me?"

"I got you, Republic."

"What's up, gramps?"

"Talk to me, son" he heard Jolee say.

"Talk to me, dad" Dustil said almost at the same time.

"What is it?" Zaalbar roared.

"Sir?"

"Irritated Query: What is it, meatbag?"

"Beep-bop-beep!"

"I'm going to grab one of the fighters in the hangar; I can do more in the air than here, but before I leave I'm going to shoot a proton torpedo towards the door leading to the lower levels. That should buy you some time. Dustil, Jolee get out of there as soon as you can and rendezvous with us right here. HK throw any Cyroban grenades that you have at the door at my signal to get the time I need. Canderous tell Zaphycort the plan. Mission, Zaalbar, give Dustil and Jolee some cover fire, Aspyre… I just wanted to wish you good luck."

"Thank you, Sir… please be careful out there."

"No problem, I'm safer there than in here. Everybody knows the plan?"

"Get going already!" he heard Canderous' irritated order.

As he ran towards the nearest fighter and began powering it up, something clicked on his mind. Without stopping he turned the comlink to Aspyre's channel only.

"Aspyre what happened, have you reached Bastila?"

"I… yes, that problem is solved"

"Really?" Carth asked, a little puzzled, something about the way she said it. "Is she… dead?"

"She's-" Aspyre managed to say before the connection was cut off.

"Aspyre? Aspyre! Damn it!" he said as he switched the comlink back to all the channels as he took off. Aiming very carefully, he saw how Canderous and Zaphycort got out of the way right before HK threw eight Cyroban grenades in quick succession, trapping about a dozen soldiers inside the sticky substance. He pressed down on the fire button and two large, blue energy balls were shot from his ship and clashed against the metallic structure above the door, sending the entire thing crashing down and preventing the troops from the lower levels from accessing the hangar. "That should buy you guys some time to rest, take care!"

"Kick their ass, dad!" he heard before he shot out of the hangar faster than he had flown in a long time.

He felt his fingers relax comfortably as he adjusted the seat for his size and began analyzing the scene taking place in front of him, a large number of Sith ships kept pouring out of the Star Forge. He knew that the Forge had no limits, but the number of pilots and crew did, so all they needed was to deplete that number and then they could move in. He quickly tapped a few buttons and began transmitting his signal to admiral Dodona.

"Admiral!"

"Carth? What are you doing?"

"Things were getting a bit too quiet inside the Star Forge; do you have any team I could join?"

"I have one last squad ready, but they have no leader, maybe you would want to take his place?"

"With pleasure, what's the team's designation?"

"The official designation is orange squad, but you might know them by another name."

"What name would that be?"

"Why, Carth I can't believe you haven't pieced it together. Members of the Fleet call them The Telos Squad."

"My old team?" he asked, hopefully with not too much nostalgia in his voice.

"Exactly as you remembered it. Get back here, and we can send the ten of you together."

"ETA one minute, Admiral!"

00

_Holy crap! We're getting so close! I'm really gonna finish this in one sit after I finish with college, I only have a few projects left to finish (begin) and turn in on Wednesday and then I can write and write and write until It's done! Next chapter is most likely going to be a mimic of the chapter in Dantooine, of the girls fighting, so it's going to be a little short, but exiting nonetheless! ;) Cheers to you if you have read since when I first started and thank so much for your support (especially this last weeks cause before everybody was too shy to review XD)_


	30. Hate Is My Fuel

Chapter 30

_Twenty minutes earlier._

Aspyre unhooked her red belt and turned it on, swiping it a few times, enjoying the soft humming sound it made as it cut through the air. Bastila was already waiting; her double lightsaber turned on and held in front of her.

"You might have defeated me before, but inside the Star Forge, I am invincible! Revan was a fool to turn her back on this power, Aspyre. You have no hope to defeat me!"

Without saying a single word, Aspyre called her blue blade to her right hand and turned both ends on and flipping it like a baton, playfully clashed her blue blades with the red. She couldn't kill Bastila, that much she knew, but would she be able to subdue her? She knew the power the Star Forge gave those that used the Dark Side of the Force, but she wasn't sure just how much power it actually gave them. She hoped that it wasn't much; she wanted to save as much power as she could for Malak.

"My spine no longer hurts, you know?" she said before she dashed forward, connecting her knee harshly against Bastila's stomach, making her lurch forward. With a swift move she hit the back of her head with the hilt of her red blade and using The Force sent Bastila flying against the wall of the Star Forge. She head a sickening crack and Bastila moan in pain. Bastila had not landed on the ground when Aspyre was already next to her and she watched in horror how her foot rose in the air and collided against her neck, making her spin in the air and landing painfully on the floor, clutching her neck. "Please don't make me hurt you more, Bastila. This hurts me more than it hurt you."

"No argument there" she whispered before she sent Aspyre flying towards the other extreme of the room, returning the favor. Bastila stood up and began healing her rather serious injuries. How had she done that? Less than a minute had gone by and Aspyre had already dealt a few crippling blows to her. But Bastila was not dead, only wounded, and everybody knows what happens to a wounded animal. She ran forward and jumped when she was a feet away from the recovering Aspyre, who barely managed to block her attack with her blue blade. Using her left foot to keep her left arm pinned down; Bastila slowly began bringing her blade closer to Aspyre's face. Her hood had fallen down, and she managed to see her face completely. She was struggling against her superior physical strength, and her worry was evident in her face. "I'm stronger here; my pain, my hate makes me stronger than you could ever be!"

Without replying, Aspyre held her breath and focused on using the Force to keep her blade in place and once she was certain Bastila couldn't push anymore, she took her hand off her blade and punched her right in throat, directly where she had kicked her, and Bastila coughed roughly as she got off her. Aspyre called her blue blade back and began slashing at her, forcing her to focus on her attacks and preventing her from healing herself. She could see Bastila straining to block all three of her blades, she had never fought an opponent wielding three blades before and she had purposely never shown her that style of fighting. She kept slashing, not powerfully but quickly. Left, right, left, right, up, downward slash, left, right, stab, left, right, uppercut, left, fake right, left, right, kick.

Bastila did her best to hold her back, but Aspyre was being very offensive, more than she could remember. She wasn't used to dealing with three blades and until she found a way to break through her offensive she had no choice but to keep blocking. But Aspyre was pushing her back, she was getting dangerously close to the wall and there she would be pinned down with no possibility to defend herself. She began detecting Aspyre's pattern and when she calculated she would do a fake right, she jumped that way and threw a barrage of lightning as she did, making Aspyre jump back in pain. It gave her the time she needed and Bastila began running around her, trying to catch her of guard, but when she tried to slash Aspyre's head off, she ducked and sent a powerful back kick directly to her knee, shattering it completely. Bastila screamed in pain and sent her flying forward to the wall, breaking her nose in the process. The two girls stood up and slowly began healing their injuries, Bastila taking a little bit more effort to do than Aspyre, but neither was showing signs of tiredness. Once Bastila was sure her knee was fine, she decided to heal her neck as well, which was starting to hurt. Aspyre took her time with her nose, it was already fixed but now she was wiping the blood off and making sure her clothing was not stained. Bastila began analyzing what she was wearing and for the first time she realized she was not wearing any extra protection like she used to. So that's why Aspyre was so fast, she was wearing barely anything. When she wore her armor, Aspyre and Bastila had about the same speed, but without, Aspyre was immensely superior in speed than Bastila. Chewing the inside of her lip Bastila began thinking of another way to kill her. Force powers would not work; she was much too powerful for that. The only things she had that Aspyre did not were size and strength. How could she use that? She looked at her former lover for a few more seconds and when Aspyre shook her head to clear her face of the few stray hairs that were bothering her she had to fight down a feeling she thought she had left behind when she joined Malak.

Aspyre threw her red blade at Bastila and directed it upwards when she saw her jumping up. Bastila stopped the blade with her lightsaber and still in the air; she sent another wave of lighting towards her. Without even moving, Aspyre stopped the lightning with her hand and sent it back at Bastila, who deflected it with her lightsaber. Bastila landed a few meters away from her and dashed forward trying to force her into another clash where she would have the advantage, but instead of stopping the blade Aspyre dodged to the right and grabbed her red blade as it came back to her, barely missing Bastila's arm for a few centimeters. She kicked Bastila again in the stomach and she had to fight the tears trying to climb their way up her tear ducts when she saw her expression of pain. Bastila tried to slash at her but Aspyre blocked her attack as she stood up and brought her blade down on her, creating the clash Bastila wanted, but not in the position she had hoped. She used all her strength to press down her blade forcing Bastila, who was already on her knees, down on the ground, straining to keep the blades away from her body. Aspyre stared at her face and tried to find any trace of kindness in them, but just when she thought she had found it, Bastila's eyes turned even yellowed and she used the Force to send her flying straight up. Without wasting a second, Bastila stood up and jumped straight at her, but Aspyre sent a Force wave to her left and she dodged Bastila's attack. The two girls landed on the ground, separated by a few dozen meters and staring at each other. How much time had passed? Two, three minutes? It was insane; she was going to have to use more power against Bastila, which meant she would be at a disadvantage against Malak, something she had hoped to avoid.

"Bastila please stop this."

"Hate is my fuel. I'm only getting started" the Sith lied.

"No… you're tired I can sense it, eventually you are going to crumble down because of the effort you are making."

"You're tiring too. It's just a matter of seeing who can stand longer, and stamina is not your biggest strength."

"I don't want to do this."

"Then die!" Bastila yelled as she threw her blade at her. In less than a second Aspyre dodged the path of the blade and ran around it, stopping when she was right behind Bastila. She stood there quietly, pressing her back against the Sith, waiting for her to make her move. "Show off."

"I said I don't want to do this Bastila. It's not like in Dantooine. It's not fun anymore."

Bastila angrily grabbed her returning blade and slashed at Aspyre, but she was no longer there. She was right back where she had been when Bastila first threw her blade at her. She stared at her in disbelief. She wasn't even breathing hard, her muscles were completely relaxed and it looked like she had just woken up instead of fighting. With an angry yell, Bastila charged forward and began a quick attack, trying to get Aspyre to make a mistake she could exploit, but every time she tried to slash at her, one blade was already in position for her next strike. It was maddening! It was impossible! No matter how hard she tried, how fast she moved, Aspyre was there, blocking her strike and waiting for her to attack again.

"Don't toy with me!" she yelled as she sent a wave of lightning directly to Aspyre's face. To her surprise Aspyre took the bolt, but did not yell in pain or actually reacted at all. In frustration, Bastila placed all her power in that attack, but Aspyre simply kept absorbing it, slowly becoming stronger while Bastila tired. She eventually stopped and kept her attack, but she was tired now, she was not able to move at the same speed as she did before, and Aspyre simply dodged her attacks. She kept her busy for a few more seconds, feeling her confidence return to her as the Star Forge replenished her strength. Another minute had gone by, but Bastila felt like it had been an hour. With her new found power, Bastila sent all her energy to her limbs and began moving quickly again, forcing Aspyre to turn her red blade on again and focus on blocking her attacks. Bastila could see the worry in her face, she had her now! She kept her attack, trying to find her breaking point, the moment when she would be able to drive her blade into her body and end this once and for all.

"Bastila stop, I don't want to hurt you" she softly said as she blocked another slash and held her blade in place, using her blue and red blade to push her back. "I love you, you have no idea what fighting you is doing to me! Please stop, I can feel the light inside you. It's not too late!"

"There is no light in me! The darkness makes me strong, stronger than YOU!"

"Wake up, Bastila!" she yelled in her face. "You're not stronger than me!" And having said that Aspyre turned off her red blade and using all her might, she sent Bastila flying back, doing her best not to look at the look of shock in her face. She made sure she could not escape her hold and once she did, she pushed her against the wall with all her strength, making her scream in agony as she did. She walked over to her and looked directly inside her yellow eyes. "I was holding back on you… The Darkness is not stronger than the Light; it's the user that makes the difference. Just because you draw your power from a different place doesn't mean you're stronger. Bastila… my love, please wake up."

"I can't… I can't keep going" she whispered, her head hung in shame at her weakness. "Even with the Star Forge making me stronger you're still better than me. I… Just kill me. If you still feel anything for me just kill me."

"I can't kill you Bastila. I love you. I love you with all my soul; I don't want to kill you. Come back to me, come back to the light."

"I see why Malak wanted me to kill you. He wanted me to lose the last spark of light inside of me. But what can one spark do against the sea of darkness that I'm drowning in? Aspyre… I can't turn back, not after what I have done."

"Bastila, you can always turn back. I already failed with Juhani" she said as she took a step back and brought her face centimeters from hers. "But I will not fail with you."

Bastila was about to reply when she felt Aspyre's lips pressing against her, calling her, beckoning the last spark of light to shine bright and send the Darkness away. She felt her soft, wet lips pressing against her dry and cracked ones, making them moist again. How she had ached for that, she needed that, she missed her. She had tried to fight her decent into the Dark Side with logic. It was not worth it, she had thought. I will corrupt me, she had contemplated. I have to keep faithful to the teachings of the Jedi, she had reasoned. I have to return to the Jedi, she had reflected. I can't disappoint Aspyre, she had said. She had never thought with her feelings. She had never tried to remember what it felt to be held by Aspyre, what it felt to have her body pressed against hers, to have her hand caressing her. She felt so stupid, had she tried that from the first time she would have never fallen. She opened her side of the bond and thoughts began to pour inside of her. She felt everything Aspyre felt, and slowly that spark grew. That single spark grew inside of her and it split in two, and those two sparks grew and they split in four, and those in eight, and those in sixteen, until she was bursting with light and it tried to get out of her. It got out through her skin, and it returned the color it had lost, it got out through her eyes, and they returned to their usual hazel tone, and it got out through her mind, and it became clear again. She opened her eyes and looked at her lover in front of her with new eyes. Or rather with old eyes that had been completely shut before.

"Aspyre" she softly said, and it took her a while to notice she was not being held in stasis by her. With a slow movement she stood up and gingerly brought her hand to her cheek. It was so soft, so warm, it was so… familiar.

Aspyre could not have been happier, she no longer held the tears of joy as Bastila caressed her face, she tried to lift her own hand to touch her, but she was numb, and she felt like a gizka in her hands. It had been so long since she had felt Bastila's touch, it had been too long since she had kissed her, it had been much too long since she had stared and gotten lost into her bright brown eyes.

"_My love."_

"_I've missed you."_

She grabbed Bastila's neck and forced her face against her, passionately kissing her like she never had before. It took Carth's announcement in her comlink to make her stop, because had he not called, she would have taken Bastila right there, in the middle of the floor of the Star Forge. Alas, duty called, and she was forced to answer her superior officer's call.

"Sir?"

00

The team rested in the floor of the Star Forge, allowing their lost energies to return to them. It had been about fifteen minutes since Carth had blasted the wall down and after a quick break, they had set up a defensive perimeter around the ship, with Zaalbar, T3 and Mission laying in wait on top of the ship, and the rest of them in strategic positions around the hangar, simply waiting for the enemy to find a way around them or from some of the ones in the upper floor to come get them, but so far everything had been quiet.

"How are we on ammo, Z?" Mission asked as she checked her rifle.

"Three spare power packs for your rifle and one for each blaster. I have one more pack left and T3's cannons are at full power which means around 600 shots" Zaalbar slowly reported.

"We'll just have to make due" the girl said with a cheerful smile on her face.

"I don't think we are going to need to fight anymore, things are really quiet."

"Mmm… I think I'm going to go and talk to Dustil for a while."

"If talk was all you were going to do I would have to problem with it" Zaalbar roared with an I-know-exactly-what-talk-means look.

"Ha ha, haven't you become overprotective of me, Big Z" Mission said as she planted a big kiss on his furry cheek and stood up, quickly sliding down to the ground. "Dustil?"

"Hey, Mission. What's up?" the young Sith said before she hugged him tightly and kissed him deeply.

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you too."

"Things are… really quiet around here, would you like to go inside the ship and… make sure everything's working?" she said as she placed the tip of her index finger on his chest and drew small circles with it.

"I… Mission do you really think now's the best time?"

"Now is the best time there could possibly be? Don't you Sith get stronger with lust?" she asked with a naughty glint in her eyes.

"Well, yeah but-"

"Enough said!" she exclaimed with a bright smile as she grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the ship.

00

"Sir? Carth?" Aspyre spoke into the comlink. The signal had been jammed, she couldn't access any channel. "Something blocked the signal."

"It's Malak. He knows you're here, he doesn't want you calling for help."

"Then I guess I have to go deal with him" Aspyre said with a bright smile as she caressed Bastila's cheek. "Too bad I can't kiss him like you. That would make things so much easier."

"Oh, that's just lazy talk, you could if you tried, you just have to be creative" Bastila joked as she held her closer.

"What, should I grab my lightsaber and make a hole where his mouth should be?" and when she failed to get the expected response she inquired. "What is it, love?"

"The Jedi… The Republic. They will never forgive me for what I have done."

"Yes they will, Bastila. I'm sure of it! They will understand that it was Malak's fault, not yours!"

"I still have to be held responsible for my actions."

"Then rectify yourself."

"What? How?"

"Use your battle meditation against the Sith. Help the Republic win this fight. Make sure Carth doesn't get himself killed out there" she said as she pointed to the battle raging on outside the Star Forge. "I'm sure Carth will put the good word out for you. And being the Republic hero he is, they are bound to forgive you" she said with a cheerful wink.

"I guess, but what about Malak? You can't handle him by yourself, not in here."

"Then I'll wait."

"What?"

"Use your battle Meditation, make sure the Republic has the battle won, and then we can go together to fight Malak."

"Very well… Together we stand a chance, I guess."

"Do your thing, love. I'll be right next to you."

"Wait before I do that" she said as she ran to a corner of the room and opened a cabinet. "This… is yours" she said as she gave her a mask. It was slightly burned and scorched, but the metal itself had not been damaged. The outside and the base of the mask were white. There were two bright blue lines on the sides were the edges of the wearer's face would be. The middle of the mask was white with a blue inverted trapezoid in front of the nose. The edges of the white eyes lines were blue, and it looked like it had been waiting for her. Patiently waiting for her. Without saying anything she took it and placed it over her face. "You left it in Manaan" Bastila explained.

"Thank you" Aspyre said, enjoying the beautiful claustrophobic feeling she got whenever she wore it. She really liked her mask. She looked at her reflection in the metallic wall and she saw Revan staring back at her, wearing a blue and white variation of her usual red and black cloak. She smiled, that hidden smile nobody except her could see and she turned to face Bastila with shining eyes. "Thank you, my love."

"My pleasure, my love."

Bastila sat down, crossed legged and facing the glass that showed her the battle outside. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, slowly stretching her consciousness and giving each Republic fighter hope, determination, taking away their fear and making them fight at one hundred percent efficiency. At the same time she dug into the heart of each Sith trooper and made them frightened, she disoriented them, she made doubt enter their minds, and she made them feel uneasy about killing Republic soldiers. It was especially easy on those that had been once in the Republic, they felt guilty already. Aspyre sat down next to her and began meditating, they didn't have much time, but a few minutes was all Bastila needed to turn the tide of the battle and once the Republic had an assured victory, they could go and turn off the Star Forge's defenses.

Bastila did an amazing job, by the time she stopped boosting the Republic's morale, they had the Sith outnumbered three to one, and they had closed the distance on the Star Forge considerably. The second she stopped concentrating the Sith began mounting a solid defense, but the battle was won.

"They already lost, they just don't know it yet" she spoke softly. To her surprise Aspyre was not there and with a shocked gasp she stood up, called her blade to her hand and ran after her, hoping it wasn't to late.

00

"I see Bastila was not enough to stop you."

"You should have known better, Malak."

"I was only buying time after all, I knew nobody could stop you, not you, not the legendary Revan."

"As I have told you before Revan is locked in tight, you're going to have to deal with me."

"Ah, Aspyre Venar… foolish child, you know nothing of the power of the Dark Side, you will regret coming here for the rest of your life. The few minutes you have left" he said before in a flash, Malak turned on his red blade and dashed forward, meeting Aspyre's blade head on. But if Bastila had been strong, Malak was a behemoth, and Aspyre had no way of stopping his attack successfully. She felt the ground move and she fell down on the ground, Malak's massive frame pinning her down and making it hard to breathe. "Bring her out, child. I want to kill her, not you!"

"She's… not available right now… I've you'd like to… leave a message" she blurted out with difficulty. "I will be glad.. to… give it to her!" she yelled as she sent a massive wave against Malak, who was completely unprepared for that, and he crashed against the metallic wall in the end of the room, near a green tank with something she couldn't clearly make out inside it. She sent another wave Malak's way and pinned him down against the wall, but not it was not his brain, or his pretty face the reason why Malak was a Sith Lord, and he was fighting back with all his might, heavily depleting her strength.

"Bring her out!" he yelled again as he pushed back even harder. Aspyre felt her head begin to hurt again and she realized Revan was trying to get out, desperately trying to face Malak one more time. But Aspyre needed time, she needed time to bring Malak back to the light. She knew she could, but neither Revan nor Malak seemed keen to give the time to her. "I will not waste my time with you, child! Bring Revan out!"

Aspyre felt her brain crack open and something came out. She felt how she lost control of her limbs and actions and how she was pushed back inside her mind, locked as tightly inside her mind as Revan had been.

00

Malak looked how something inside the girl changed. She stopped pushing against him and he fell down on the ground, quickly getting up on his feet and looking at her. She held her head forcefully, as if it was going to split open, she saw her shake uncontrollably and clench her teeth tightly. That was it. He saw through her mask as she opened her eyes and looked straight at him, her sickly yellow irises reflecting his own.

"Revan" he spoke with glee.

"Malak" she spit with contempt.

"Finally, I get my chance to defeat you in single combat. No intrusion from your so called "friends", no shooting you in the back, nowhere to run. Just you and me."

"You are going to pay for what you did to me."

"We shall see, here in the Star Forge I am invincible. You were a fool, Revan, when you saw the Star Forge all you thought was an infinite fleet rolling forth, crushing the Republic, you never knew the true power of this space station."

"You were the fool!" she yelled, snickering softly at him. "You thought I just wanted to crush the Republic, you never had the brains to look beyond that. You simply thought we would conquer everything, destroy everything and impose our will on the galaxy? You idiot… I can't believe you forgot our original mission so quickly."

"You intended to serve that old fool?"

"No, you idiot! That is why I did not want Telos destroyed, that it was I was extremely careful on our targets, that's why I created HK-47, so the infrastructure of the Republic was left intact, so there would be no need to rebuild!"

"Your precautions did nothing but slow us down."

"What do you think the emperor would say when he found out we betrayed him? Do you think we would have been able to withstand his fury? Do you think we would have been able to hold our new rule when he returned? No… We needed to fortify the galaxy, we needed to have the Republic stronger than ever. If we wanted to rule, we had to unify everybody under our leadership and prepare for the revenge of the Emperor. But because of your greed, your stupidity, everything has gone to hell! We can't mount a successful defense, not with the time we have left. Now the best we can hope for is that the Republic will be able to defend itself against the initial assault, but mark my words, that war is going to drag on for decades, it's going to cost billions of lives, the face of the galaxy will change forever. You Malak, singlehandedly have doomed the galaxy to yet another war." Malak was silent while Revan explained herself to him. Why had she never told any of that to him sooner? Why had she kept everything to herself? "Even if you defeat me, even if you destroy the Republic and install a new order, our Master will return, and he will crush you like the insect you are, Malak. And as for your so called "discovery" of the Star Forge's power, I knew about it all along, but unlike you, I did not want to rely on it. You have relied on the Star Forge too much and now that it's going to be taken away from you, you will have nothing. You have made mistake after mistake since you fired on my ship, and now they have all come crashing down around you."

"I have become stronger than you. I have become stronger than _him_" he spoke out with disgust. "When he comes back I will crush him just like I will crush you, Revan. My rule will be absolute and nobody will stop me!"

"You've made your bed Malak, now you have to sleep on it… But The Emperor won't have the chance to kill you. That pleasure belong to me, my love" she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "Come Alek, let us spar like we used to back in Dantooine. I always won back then too."

"We will fight, and this time the winner will decide the fate of the galaxy. Every choice we made, every moment of training in our lives has inexorable led us to this point. Now Revan, let's see if you have what it takes to rule this galaxy, and defend it like you think you can."

Revan took out both blades and turned them on, she knew Malak, she knew his style, she knew how he would fight, and she would entertain herself with him for as long as she could. Malak turned on his long red blade and spread his legs, adopting a textbook defensive position as he waited for Revan to strike. Rolling her eyes at his stupidity, Revan jumped forward and brought her blades down on him, the force of the impact sending shakes all over her body. With a swift move, she kicked him on the stomach and began slashing at speeds that would have put Aspyre to shame all the while she twisted and turned like she was dancing, giving her blows more strength and slowly pushing Malak back against the wall again.

"Make an effort, love" she said as she pressed her attack and forced him back even more. "I want this to be interesting." With a brutal slash with her blue blade, Revan managed to catch Malak off guard and she took advantage of the split second she had gained to deliver a solid kick on his knee, hoping to repeat the tactic that Aspyre had so cleverly done with Bastila, but Malak's knee was much larger and tougher and she didn't have the strength required to break it. With a powerful move, Malak slashed at her and made her crumble under his blade, before he grabbed her by the throat with the Force and lifted her up. She managed to block his next strike before she Force pushed him against the wall again, causing his grip on the throat to falter. However he did not let go and after a few seconds, he sent her flying as well, hitting with her back the hard glass tank on the other side of the ample room. "Nicely done… this might just be interesting."


	31. A Little Bit Longer

Chapter 31

Carth got off his ship and immediately ran towards the waiting Admiral, eager to join his old squad. He ran past a few surprised pilots and mechanics, ignoring the questions a few of the bolder ones asked him.

"Admiral, Captain Onasi reporting for duty!" he said as vaguely remembered Aspyre saying something similar to him when she woke up in Taris.

"Carth, it's good to see you in one piece" she told him. Without wasting any time, she aimed him in the direction where his comrades where waiting and after silently thanking her, he all but ran towards them.

"Look alive boys, it's the Gizka that learned how to fly" Ian said with a grin on his face. It had been a few years since Carth had seen the man, and he had started to forget his facial features. He began absorbing the few wrinkles in the corners of his mouth, just like he remembered them, and a few new ones on his forehead, barely covered by his thick brown hair.

"Ian… You've gotten old" he replied with the most serious face he could muster, before both of them broke into laughter, playfully punching each other. "I can't believe it… Rayyn, Herefilus, Jaan, Set, Pali, Carssion, Aran, Cizilly, Blasphyne… I was starting to forget your faces... Good to see the Venom Squad is still in one piece."

"Yeah, and Admiral Dodona's is still bothering us and asking us to use the official designation, but we just keep saying that you won't recognize us without our usual name" Herefilus told him without his usual serious face.

"The years have been kind to you, Sir" said Aran… or Blasphyne… or Cizilly, it was hard to distinguish triplets from each other. She took a gloved hand to her face and placed the long blonde hair that was covering her bright grey eyes behind her left ear. Blasphyne, then. He looked to the exact copy next to her; her hair was slightly shorter, reaching her upper back… Aran. Which made the girl with the shortest hair, and with the tiny new scar above her neck, Carth noted, Cizilly.

"Oh, not you girls, it's hard to forget clones once you meet them. How are things going?"

"Pretty good, Cizilly's got a new boyfriends, he's pretty good… in a few special areas" Aran joked with a wink before her sister slapped her back playfully.

"So we heard you have been making quite a ruckus, Dantooine, Tatooine, Manaan, Kashyyyk, Korriban" Carssion said as he walked next to his former squad leader.

"We've been busy… Malak has kept us that way, which reminds me, we really shouldn't be wasting time like this, not now."

"The ships are prepped, we were just waiting for you, Venom leader" Pali said as he handed Carth something he had not seen since the battle over Malachor Five.

"I can believe you kept this" he whispered as he grabbed the green and black helmet from his pilot's hands. He stared at it, entranced by the dark green eyes painted above the visor. A pair of thin green lines had been drawn from the beginning of the eyes to the back of the helmet, and time had not damaged them. He closed his eyes and placed the helmet on, feeling the same thrill he had felt when he first was assigned as Captain of Venom Squad. "All right, Venom Squad" he spoke with adrenaline pouring from his voice. "Let's get ready to fly!"

"Sir, yes sir!" the group said before they each ran to their own personal ships. Carth turned around and saw as the group of mechanics brought his ship over. The same black and green design had been painted over the sleek hull, except for the yellow large cannons sticking out from under it. He walked around the ship once, flashes of glory and war returning to him as he did. The same hyperdrive, the same cannons, the same scratch it had when he was force to trade paint with a Mandalorian fighter once he had ran out of ammo.

The stairs had not been secured when he had already climbed them and was already strapping on his seat, ready to fly before they even gave him the good to go signal. He barely registered it and once he was sure there was nobody around he ignited the ship and took off, carefully driving it through the hangar before he crossed the shields and blasted into space, racing through countless explosions, blaster bolts and pieces of floating metal. His team was right there, just like they had been before and Carth felt secure once again.

"This must be how Aspyre must have felt" he muttered before he turned on the comlink, remembering her impressive time in the Tatooine race track. "All Venom wings check in."

"Venom 1, standing by" Ian rough voice came over.

"Venom 2, standing by" Aran's voice came through.

"Venom 3, standing by!" Cizilly's cheerful report reached his tired ears.

"Venom 4, standing by" Blasphyne reported softly.

"Venom 5, standing by" Rayyn said.

"Venom 6, standing by" Herefilus responded.

"Venom 7, standing by" Jaan said with that playful singing voice of his.

"Venom 8, standing by" Carssion spoke.

"Venom 9, standing by and ready to blow this scumbags out of the sky!" Pali shot at him. Not once had the man complied with procedure, probably the reason he had never become captain of his own squad, but Carth was not complaining.

"All Venom wings, attack position, get ready to intercept the squad in sector three-eight. Attack strategy Rip Ride, let's go!" Carth yelled with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

00

Dustil stretched his arms as he got out of _The Black Ark_. That had definitely helped his mood.

"I think… I think we used up to much of our energy" Mission said as she leaned on him.

"Really? I feel like I just woke up" he said as he hugged her tightly.

"You weren't the one moving" she replied with raised eyebrows.

"Good point, but you're going to be shooting so I say we're even."

"Ha ha, can you lift me?"

"Sure thing. Be safe" he advised her, and with a quick kiss, he began lifting the Twi-lek girl back to the top of _The Black Ark_. "I'm on channel three, just in case."

"Don't worry" she replied with an I-know-mom look. "I'll be fine, go!"

Winking at his love, he ran towards the rubble that his dad's blast had created and jumped on top of it, quickly peering to the other side to see what was going on. A large amount of Sith troopers was in the walkway on the other side, but they weren't really doing anything, they looked like they were waiting for something and a few seconds later he got his answer. A red trooper was walking towards the rubble, carrying two bags filled with thermal detonators, and Dustil gulped as he jumped off and ran back to the others.

"They got detonators! Get under cover!" He managed to yell before the explosion drowned the rest of his words. A large searing blast occurred behind him and he was sent flying, his shield barely covering his body and preventing the heat from killing him. He saw with the corner of his eye how Jolee jumped from his hiding spot and ignited his blade, not waiting for the smoke to clear while he began hacking and slashing, Zaphycort right next to him. Turning his head around, he saw Canderous and HK aiming their guns at the smoke, patiently waiting for something to come out so they could shoot it. He saw Zaalbar, T3 and Mission doing the same from their vantage point and he stood up, not wanting to let Jolee and Zaphycort take all the fun. Spreading the metallic panels on his right arm, he placed it protectively in front of his face and advanced towards the fight, blocking the few stray shots that went his way. He saw a few Dark Jedi with their backs turned to him and thankfully, his Dark energy, shielded him from them, and he easily dispatched them before his cover was blown.

"Get the traitor!" he heard. "Kill him!"

"Traitor? The Sith were the ones that betrayed me" he yelled as he jumped towards the face Sith he saw and crossed blades with him, using his superior strength to push him back before slashing off his head at the same time he jumped up to avoid the downward slash his partner tried to attack him with.

00

Canderous systematically kept shooting at the troopers that managed to get past the Jedi, easily taken them out. It felt like he was shooting Bantha. He managed to keep them at bay by himself, but when he reloaded, HK happily intervened and took his place, the kid and Zaalbar aiding him, not that he needed any help. Realizing that they were focusing too much on that entrance, Canderous cautiously got up and began walking towards the other door, the one that led to the upper levels, to make sure it was locked and no Sith were headed that way.

"Tin Can! Make sure they don't make it through, if they blow the ship, we're done for!" he yelled as he shot at a large group, giving the droids and Mission time to reload.

"Hurt Response: Why you inconsiderate Meatbag! How dare you imply that a single one of those pathetic excuses for soldiers could get past me? I would gut you right open had my master not forced not to."

"Shut up and do it or I'm going to have you recycled!"

"Appeasement: yes, yes, Meatbag. Whatever you say, meatbag."

The Mandalorian quickly checked to make sure that the door was firmly locked from their side, and once he had confirmed with HK that there were no life forms above them, he returned to the fight, dropping his empty repeater to the ground and taking out his vibroknife as he charged towards the clueless soldier that was foolish enough not to check his surroundings before he entered a hostile area. With a quick stab, he drove his blade through his helmet as he grabbed his rifle and emptied it on his five teammates, killing them all before the first one had hit the floor. Without wasting a second he ran inside and found himself face to face with the Sith boy, who almost mistook him for an enemy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked him, and Canderous half considered stabbing him in the leg for asking such a stupid question.

"Ran out of bullets" he replied after a quick, but hard debate. Without waiting for his reply, he jumped on top of another Sith trooper and slit his throat before taking his weapon and shooting the few soldiers the Twi-lek Jedi had missed on her way deeper inside their territory.

00

Mission had to stop shooting several times to wipe the sweat from her face. The Sith were moving closer, and she felt like their shots were becoming more and more focused on them than anything else. One bolt had come particularly close from burning her lekku and she no longer felt the same sense of easement she had had when they had first arrived. As she saw a small pause in the fight, she pushed a new power pack on her rifle, the last one and looked over at the entrance, three troopers were lifting the bodies of their dead teammates, and despite telling herself that they were going to shoot at her later, she found herself unable to fire on soldiers that were simply carrying dead bodies away from the field. That is until she realized they were using the dead bodies as shields as they advanced. Clenching her teeth in anger, she grabbed her rifle again and began laying down a rain of blaster bolts on them, piercing their shields and their organs alike.

She did not see it coming. Zaalbar roared something in her ear, but she was too focused on killing the soldiers that did not let their friends rest in peace to notice him. She did notice however, his hand on her back and the strong way he pulled her off her feet as he jumped off the ship, barely escaping the fragmentation grenade that somebody had thrown at them. The landing was not pleasant, but hitting the floor with her back was preferable to taking an active fragmentation grenade in the face, so she did not complain.

00

He saw it with the glint of his eye. A large brown shape pulling a smaller blue one and jumping off the ship. Dustil turned his face around and saw a large explosion that rocked the top of the ship, and for a second he stood still contemplating the blast and hoping with all his might Mission was not hurt. He saw T3's intact frame still clinging on the _Black Ark's_ cockpit and shooting nonstop, completely ignoring the blast thanks to his powerful personal shield. Zaalbar roared something he could not heard and he saw him crouching over Mission, who was not moving. Without wasting a second, he slashed forwards immediately killing the few troopers that did not manage to jump out of his way and sending a mighty wave of Force Lightning at the bodies of the rest, slowly turning the seven of them into separate piles of melted metal and burnt flesh. He turned back to check on Mission, but he found his head clouded by a dark taint, something that was bothering him and did not allow him to focus. He tried to clear his mind but something was growing inside of him, something kept clawing its way out, trying to come out of his mouth and it took him a while to recognize the feeling, which he had not felt since he had left Korriban. Hate. He felt how the powerful feeling invaded him completely and he focused on the soldier that had thrown the grenade, he was still alive and had not noticed him. Taking a few brisk steps towards him, he grabbed his throat with his right hand and began squeezing, slowly crushing his armor and then his windpipe, he could have used Force choke to get the same effect, but this one did not even deserve it, he wanted to feel how his life left his body, he wanted to make sure he never forgot the mistake he made when he tried to harm… who? What had he done? It didn't matter, only killing him mattered now. And killing him painfully.

00

Carth sent all power to the shield as he forcefully stopped the ship and fired on the three fighters that had tried to blow him up. With a quick press of a few buttons, he sent the power back to its regulated state and turned around, heading back into the fray and sending a proton torpedo to an unfortunate fighter that had tried to sneak up on Pali.

"Thanks, Cap."

"It was my pleasure, believe me."

"Guess that mean you won me one, then" Pali replied with a snicker as he flew off and joined Carssion and Jaan in their usual triangle formation.

Carth shot his ship forward and was soon joined by Aran and Ian in the same triangle formation as they charged forward, breaking through the Sith's line of defense and for the first time getting seriously close to the Star Forge. Had Carth wanted, he could have thrown shot at it. He only got a tiny glimpse, the briefest of seconds, but he was certain of what he saw, years of flying at insane speeds and fighting all kinds of enemies in space had taught him how to spot the smallest things traveling at the fastest speeds.

Malak drove his blade inside Aspyre's stomach.

With a deep breath, he ordered Ian and Aran to continue their assault on their own as he turned his ship for a second look, but a Sith fighter tried to blast him and he was forced to deal with him by performing a quick U turn followed by a barrel roll, trading paint with the inexperienced pilot and crashing him against the Star Forge, the large explosion covering the viewing glass, and he was unable to make sure that what he had seen was in fact, correct, and he was forced to continue, quickly boosting his speed to catch up with Ian and Aran.

00

Dustil felt Zaphycort and Canderous drag him away from the fight and trying to calm him, but he was too angry, to furious at the Sith for… they had done something to him, but it didn't matter what it had been. What it mattered was that he was angry, and they were going to die, but these too wouldn't let him! Why wouldn't they? He tried to get loose and run back, but Canderous had him firmly held by his right arm and he couldn't get loose. He yelled at them to let him go, but they wouldn't listen. He felt like he was a child again, been dragged away by his parents after misbehaving in the playground. Slowly he began calming down, and he remembered what the Sith had done to make him angry. Mission. They had hurt Mission. But why had he not run to her? Why had he not gone and protect her? Why had he tried to kill every last Sith instead of protecting her, like he should have? He managed to convince them to let him go and he stood up next to them.

"I'm… I'm sorry, I'm fine now. I don't know what came over me."

"I do" the blue Twi-lek said with a serious gaze. "That Dark Side is tainting you, young one, you should not be here, this place-" was all she said before a red blade went right through her neck, severing her head cleanly. Dustil felt everything move in slow motion. He saw Jolee throwing his blade in retaliation and driving it into the Dark Jedi's back, and he crumbled down as the green blade exited his body and returned to its owner. He saw how her head slowly fell forwards, landing on his shaking hands as her body crumbled. He heard Mission yelling on his ear, but he was absorbed by the serious, yet calm eyes that were staring at him, the spark of life completely gone from them. He felt her pulling him and he felt himself complying, but he was no longer inside his body. He was watching himself from afar, he was watching him watch Zaphycort's severed head on his hands and he saw how Mission dragged him inside _The Black Ark_.

"Dustil?"

He didn't respond.

"Dustil!" Mission repeated and she tried to take the head away from him, but he pushed her away, and kept staring at the dead eyes in front of him. "Dustil… are you hurt?"

"No" he responded without taking his eyes from Zaphycort's head.

"Dustil… please… put… her down."

"I can't. I… I let the Darkness take over me… She was pulling me away from the fight to calm me down, to bring me back… I… She died because I was stupid. She's dead because of me."

"Dustil… No, don't do this to yourself. Dustil it wasn't your fault, this is a war zone, we all know the risks… I… I know that not all of us might make it back. Don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault."

"It was."

"Dustil" she began, but an explosion rocked the entire ship, and she fell down to the floor. She grabbed hold of the wall and managed to pull herself to her feet. "Dustil… We can't stay here and do nothing, the Sith are closing in!"

"Mission I can't go out there. I… I think I can't control myself here. It's so hard to do it in here. This place… it brings the worst in me… I don't want you to see that."

The teenage girl was quiet as he spoke, slowly digesting his words and trying to comprehend them inside her young mind.

"Dustil…"

00

Canderous knew the battle was lost. By sheer numbers the Sith were going to win. They had already lost the Jedi and the two kids had gone inside the ship. Now only Jolee, the two droids and himself were defending the hangar, and they were being overrun. He knew what they had to do, but that meant… he had to hold on. At least a little bit longer.

00

Jolee had been in some serious jams before, but he had never been in something as sticky as the situation as he was right now. No matter how many Sith he cut down, how many shots he deflected, how many he pushed over the walkway, they simply kept coming, and he was beginning to tire. Thankfully Canderous was next to him, and he gave him some breathing room, which he desperately needed. Using the Force, he created a shield around himself and the Mandalorian and after a quick break, he made it explode and it sent the surrounding soldiers to their feet, where they slashed by either Jolee's blade or Canderous' knife. Jolee did his best to keep up, but his age was finally starting to catch up with him, and he began, for the first time in his life, to feel exhausted. For the first time he had to push himself to move his legs, he had to make a serious effort to move his arms, and his fighting technique suffered because of it. His movements became sluggish and he saw how Canderous advanced without him.

"Damn the legs of the young" he muttered as he pushed himself harder.

00

Bastila stabbed the large metal door with her lightsaber and as quickly as she could, began cutting a hole in it. She quickly turned and twisted her blade, making the metal door melt under the pressure, but it was not enough, and the metal door still blocked her way. She tried stabbing it multiple times in different points, and after a few long minutes of persistence, she managed to weaken the door enough to forcefully pull it away. She focused for a few seconds and then she began pulling the door open. It creaked and protested, but she kept pulling and making an immense effort like she had not in a long time, she managed to send the metal door flying across the room. She breathed a sigh of relief before advancing, hoping that it was not too late. She entered the door and found herself walking down a large walkway, much like the rest that were spread across the entire Star Forge. Despite being extremely large, it still felt claustrophobic to her, and she rushed forward. She had hoped that the way was short, and she would find Aspyre and Malak fighting at the end of the hallway, but it twisted and turned, and she was getting frustrated by her inability to find them. She tried using her bond to talk to Aspyre, but it was closed, and she hoped that was not a bad sign, but considering she was fighting Malak, everything had to be considered as a bad sign, including the fight still raging viciously outside the Star Forge. She ran across the walkway and found a door at the end of the maze-like factory. There was a large viewing glass that covered the entire wall of the Star Forge, and Bastila felt a pang of extra nervousness when she realized somebody could shoot it and send them all blasting into oblivion, and she resolved to get out of there even faster. She managed to separate her gaze from the dangerous glass and landed it on the two figures roughly clashing blades and sending red sparks all over the place. Malak's massive frame did not allow Bastila to see what Aspyre was doing, but by the looks of it, Malak was having trouble holding his ground. She ran up the stair on the far left, the ones closest to them, hoping to catch Malak off guard, but as soon as she finished climbing, she saw how Malak blocked Aspyre downward slash and responded by kicking her roughly in the stomach before he drove his long red blade inside of it. Bastila felt her breath leave her body and she had absolutely no idea how she managed to stay on her feet.

She saw how Aspyre groaned in pain and pushed herself back, letting the blade exit her body and crumpling down next to a green tank. She saw her looking up angrily at Malak and then at the tank before she sneered and Forced pushed him away. Bastila ran towards her, hoping to be able to help her before it was too late, but as she ran towards her lover, she observed how Aspyre placed her hand on the tank and began draining the energy of whatever was inside it. Her step faltered and she began processing the information her brain was sending her. Aspyre was using the Force to drain the tank, which meant there was something alive inside of it. The energy she drained healed her, which meant it was live force, and she was using Force Drain to do it, which meant she had tapped the Dark Side of the Force, and Aspyre would never do that… Looking at her sick yellow eyes, Bastila confirmed her fears, Revan was out.


	32. Ever Thought About Leaving?

Chapter 32

The blaster volts ricocheting off the _Black Ark's_ shields seemed to grow more and more numerous, Mission noted with apprehension in her eyes. Now only HK and T3 were their last line of defense, but she wasn't sure for how long could the droids last without them. It had been a really hard decision, sending those two out there, but after much deliberation, they had concluded that they needed to, or the Sith would have destroyed their ship. Mission had hoped that with their superior targeting systems and superior processors, they would be able to hold out for much longer, but as she checked the view screen, harsh reality slapped her face yet again. HK was completely out of rockets, he only had four more power packs for his rifle and they had no more grenades they could send him. He still had his flamethrower, but to use it he would have to jump down, where he would be picked clean in a few minutes, not to mention it only had fifteen percent fuel left. T3 was a little better off, he still had his shock arm intact, as well as enough power to continue fighting, but the little droid had mobility against him and so far he had counted on HK to protect his rear, if HK was taken out, he would most certainly follow short. She sighed as she sat down in the cockpit. They could always rebuild them… if they managed to get out, that was. And without them, it was grim to think about the future. She looked at the reading the ship gave her; the shields were down to twenty-four percent. Another sigh escaped her lips.

"Didn't figure out this was the way I would go" she heard Dustil say behind her as he walked next to her and sat down too. "How much longer do we have?"

"About thirty minutes. But if they manage to open the hatch then… How's Jolee?"

"Better, in a few more minutes he should be back in fighting shape, but we lost all momentum, I don't think we can attack again."

"I wasn't thinking… about that…"

"I know."

"Canderous?"

"Worried about Aspyre, not really about us… or him for that matter. Mandalorians, eh? You have to love them."

Snorting softly, she stood up and kissed him in the cheek before heading towards the hatch, where she found Zaalbar standing guard. To anybody else, the young wookie would have seemed mighty and vicious, but she knew, she knew how tired he was, she knew just how much longer he would be able to fight before he collapsed, it had happened before, when she had been surrounded by Black Vulkars in the cantina. Zaalbar had clawed his way towards the bloody pulp they had made of her, and carrying her with one arm he had fought their way out and taken her to Zelka's medical center. She had barely lived after that, and a warm feeling rose on her chest when she stood next to him, tightly wrapping her arms around him. Zaalbar responded by shifting his weight to his other leg and placing his heavy arm on her shoulder. She almost crumbled under its weight and that was what surprised her the most.

"Big Z" she whispered as she did her best to carry him near the wall, where she forced him to sit down. "Don't fight me on this, Z. We need you at full strength if they break through, so just take a break while we still have some time."

"We can't rely on those droids for much longer, Mission" he said as he tried to stand up.

"I know, but for now, we can, so take this time to rest. Close your eyes. I'll watch the door for you."

"Thank you" he finally purred.

Mission made sure he was completely out before she stood up and walked over one of the rooms, were Jolee and Canderous sat, back to back in the cramped space.

"I've never… felt so tired before" the Mandalorian admitted, unaware of Mission's presence. "I got shot three times getting back into the ship. Had I not had my healing implant I would not have made it… That's the first time that's ever happened to me. I'm getting old, I guess."

"You're getting old?" Mission heard Jolee melancholically laugh before he held his sides. "I may not be a Jedi, but I have the Force by my side… and even with that… you still held yourself better than me. Age sure is tricky isn't it? It sends you small signal all over the years, the tiny headaches, the small stomach pains, the little cramps in your muscles, and because you refuse to believe that you're going to get old, you decide to ignore them… And you end up aging faster because of it."

"Eat when you're hungry, rest when you're tired, huh?"

"I wish I had done that. I might have not ended up like this. I wonder… what would have happened if I had never left the Jedi order"

"I don't deal in "what if's" Mission heard Canderous lie. Of course he dealt in "what if's"! The first few weeks they had travelled together he had managed to get her and Carth to imagine what the galaxy would have turned out if the Mandalorians had won the war. But she guessed he was talking more for the old Jedi than him. "We should try to see if there is something we can do to boost the power for the shields."

Mission quietly crept back to the hatch, where the blaster sounds were louder, and hoped that they had not heard her.

"Kid" she heard Canderous call her, and she unwillingly stiffed as she turned around, with the best I-didn't-do-it face she could muster.

"Yeah?"

"We're gonna try to boost the power for the shield, anything you can do to help?"

"The toolbox's next to the hyperdrive" she said as she stood up. "I'll go to the cockpit and tell you guys if whatever you do works."

"Fine."

"Canderous" she said, and immediately regretted it. The massive Mandalorian turned around and looked at her with that indifferent mask of his. "That… that was very noble of you." Narrowing his eyes Canderous glared at her, but said nothing. Mission held the gaze as evenly as she could, what could she possibly have to lose? And if she won, well that was a story to tell around the campfire.

"Yeah" he finally said before he turned around and followed Jolee down the hyperspace room, leaving the relieved and surprised teenager behind.

00

It never crossed Carth's mind during the few minutes he had spoken to his teammates, or during the few seconds it took him to prep his ship, or during the minutes that he flew and fought, that he might be shot down. How could such a foolish thought enter his mind? He wasn't one to brag, but he was an excellent pilot, he knew it! If there was anything he was good at it was flying! How could a random, useless, nameless pilot shoot _him _down? What was even more infuriating was that it had occurred because he returned to get a better look, it had occurred because he left his squad alone to see if his hunch was right. He could not stop beating himself about it. Everybody was dead. Those damn Sith had broken through their lines in one last desperate attempt before the Republic manage to crush their last Capital ship. Now only fighters and freighters were left and it had been one of those idiots, the ones that were merely a cleaning job that had shot him down! As he struggled to maintain the ship in a straight course, he managed to see that he was not very far away from the Star Forge, and with a little luck, he might be able to get back in, board the _Black Ark _and get out of there with the rest before the Admiral Dodona ordered the Star Forge bombed.

Carth quickly checked that he had flown very far away from the fight, and the nearest ship was well over three kilometers away from him, so he diverted all remaining power to the engines and turned off the shield, and the fighter managed to glide into the colossal space station.

The few seconds that it took Carth to crash land his ship inside the hangar felt like endless minutes to him. He entered the space station and immediately gasped when he saw the situation unfolding in front of him. Literally hundreds of Sith were surrounding the defenseless _Black Ark_, hammering away with their rifles and repeaters. Mission, Dustil, Canderous, Jolee and Zaphycort were nowhere to be found, hopefully inside the ship. HK and T3 were on top of the ship, acting like snipers against the seemingly endless wave of enemies. Carth didn't think, he reacted on instinct, and quickly brought his ship on a half nose dive against the ground where he calculated more Sith were. The blood splash was incredible. Dozens of screams filled the air as his metal bird crash against the troopers trying to get out from under it, sending hands, head, broken pieces of white armor, organs, and blood spluttering all around him. Trying hard not to throw up, Carth did his best to aim near the hatch of the ship and he managed to "land" his fighter only three feet away from it. He opened the cockpit and quickly drawing his gun he shot the two troopers around the ship that had managed to get out of the path of his initial tackle. He saw Mission and Zaalbar greet him when the hatch opened, and he jumped inside, barely escaping the blaster bolts sent his way. He heard the humming sound that indicated the shield had been activated again and he looked up at the surprised pair.

"What the hell? I leave for a few minutes and things go to hell! Where's Aspyre?"

"It's nice to see you too, Carth" Mission sarcastically greeted him as she helped him up.

"She has not returned. Communications are still cut off, and we have not heard from her since she left" Zaalbar informed him as they walked towards the cockpit.

"Dad?"

"Dustil" he said as he hugged his son. "Are you hurt?" he asked when he noticed his weak reaction.

"No… I'm fine, but Zaphycort…"

"I see."

"It was my fault" he said softly.

"No-" he began.

"She died because I was reckless, because I charged against the Sith alone. She died dragging me back here before I came to my senses."

"Dustil, you're sixteen years old. She's not dead because of you. You made a mistake. You are entitled to make mistakes" he slowly explained, hoping his parental skills weren't as rusty as he feared. "You don't have… you shouldn't have to carry this weight on your shoulders, neither should Mission. You're too young. You have been dragged into something no kid should be dragged into... If this is anybody's fault it's mine. But… don't beat yourself up over a mistake you did. I did that for so many years when I thought I had lost you, and I don't wish that hell for you, son."

The pair sat quietly in the cockpit for a few minutes while Mission and Canderous silently watched them. Carth eventually stood up and patted his son in the back before looking at them with serious eyes.

"We need more power for the shields" Canderous told him without so much as a spare second.

"Did you reroute it already?"

"That was the first thing we did, then we installed a few new power couplings, one at a time. The only thing I can think of is diverting the power from the life support."

"No, I think I have an idea. Let's go check out the hyperdrive; I think we might be able to cook something up."

00

"You can do better than that, Squint!" Revan taunted as she slashed and forced Malak back. With a brutal kick, she sent Malak flying back, finally crashing against the last tank still containing a Jedi in it. With the few seconds she gained, Revan ignited her blue blade and focused on Bastila, quickly pushing her against a corner.

"Aspyre! Get out of there! Help me!"

"Shut up!"

"Aspyre!"

"Shut up!" she yelled before she performed a back flip and avoided Malak's blow, which landed neatly between Bastila's legs. The former Sith performed a fan spin and kicked Malak on his metal chin as she stood up slashing at him as quickly as her tired arms allowed her.

Malak blocked her blows with ease, trying to find a way to use the situation to his advantage. With a quick duck, Malak avoided Revan's blue blade, which collided against Bastila. The combined strength of the two Sith lords was too much for the young Padawan, and she was quickly pushed back by them. They managed to pin her against the wall and they would have chopped her head off, but Malak saw a small opening on Revan's defenses and he tried to exploit it. Shifting his weight, he allowed Bastila to regain her balance, which made Revan stumble forward, not expecting the sudden change. Malak swiped at her stomach, hoping to slice her in half, but Revan managed to twist and place the other end of her lightsaber in front of his blade, pushing her forward and allowing her to jump over Bastila, who tripped Malak with a solid blow before turning around and continuing her attack on Revan.

"Aspyre! I can't fight Revan and Malak! I need you!"

"Shut up, Jedi! She is not coming back!" Revan angrily responded before sending Bastila flying with a solid Force Push. Malak again tried to slash Bastila in half, but the young Jedi employed the defense used by Revan a few seconds ago and soared through the air harmlessly, placing her feet against the wall to cushion the blow before she gracefully flipped and landed in the ground, her back against the fighting Sith lords.

Bastila turned around and saw how Malak slowly pushed the tiring Revan into submission, using his superior strength to make her move around too much, tiring her legs. He would then try to tire her arms until he saw her movements became sluggish, time when he would deal the killing blow. Predicting it would take about five minutes uninterrupted to perform his strategy, Bastila sat down and calmed herself, meditating for the first time in weeks. She felt the fight still ways off from her and relaxed her muscles, slowly feeling the Force around her and trying to become more in tune with it. But it was hard, tempting tendrils of Darkness swan around her mind, trying to cloud her, but she focused her mind and calmed herself, letting peace take a hold of her. With a deep breath Bastila expanded her consciousness and began feeling the fighters, too entranced with the fight to notice her intrusion. She felt Malak's body, his mind, his thoughts. She saw the darkness in Revan's mind, the numerous battle plans and ideas that crossed her mind, and the tiny place in the back of her mind where the darkness had not entered yet, the tiny place where Aspyre Venar was kept. Using all her might, Bastila focused on that spot, making sure that she did not hinder Revan so much that she would be killed by Malak, but enough to make her notice her.

"Damn it" she heard from a far. Opening her eyes, she saw Revan glaring at her and she took it as her cue. Jumping forward with all her might, she brought her red blade down just exactly the second she had intended to.

00

Malak landed a mighty blow on Revan's lower blue blade, making her entire body shake with the force of the impact. He managed to spot the place where she would be unable to block, and he moved his blade directly in front of it. Malak pushed as hard as he could, and he was only nanometers away from Revan's clothing when he saw Bastila's blade crashing down on the hilt of his blade, barely missing his hand and destroying his lightsaber. Swallowing the roar that rose on his throat, he punched the young Jedi in the face and kicked her away as quickly as he could. How he managed to avoid Revan's blade, Malak did not know, what he knew was that he somehow managed to not get his head separated from his body and he had jumped over Revan, landing on the second floor. He called Revan's red blade to his hand and managed to get a firm grip on it before she could call it back. He saw Revan turning to face him in ager before turning her head to Bastila, her eyes wide open in surprise and fear. Intrigued, Malak looked at the Jedi and found her meditating, of all things. Malak managed to grasp what Bastila was doing and jumped as fast as he could, intent on keeping Aspyre locked in, and with a long roar, he swiped at Bastila with a wide arc, aiming directly at her neck.

00

"T3, HK, get back here."

"Objection: Failure to comply, meatbag. If I am to meet my end in this space station, I will be destroyed fighting my foes, not cowering inside some third rate space ship with the likes of you!"

"HK, get back here!"

"Infuriated Response: Very well… Oh, if only had my master not ordered me to follow your ridiculous instructions I would have loved to pull your squishy and fragile intestines out of your equally fragile-"

"HK!" Carth interrupted him. The mumbling droid quickly fired twice before crawling back to the entrance hatch and entered the ship, extremely irritated at the fact that he was deprived of his killing spree, in his own words. The calmer T3 followed him quickly and waited in the corner without so much as a beep out of him.

Carth tapped his foot impatiently as he watched how Mission and Zaalbar disarmed the protesting HK. His power core would probably buy them about another half an hour for the shield, and with T3's they would be able to fly out of there. The only question that troubled his mind was if those thirty minutes would be enough for Aspyre to get back, otherwise…

00

Bastila opened her eyes with a wide smile on her face, the first since they had arrived in Manaan, so many long weeks ago. The bright flash of the blue blade stopping Malak's bright red sword a few centimeters from her face blinded her slightly, but those bright blue eyes she would have been able to see even if a sun was shining down on her face.

"Malak" Aspyre spit out. The dumbfounded Sith lord stared at the pair of Padawans in disbelief, before Bastila's heel connected roughly with his metallic chin for the second time, sending him staggering back. _Snap-hiss_ went Bastila's blade. "Thank you."

"It was my pleasure, I assure you. I suppose you are going to try to beat some sense on his skull?"

"One last time?"

"Fine."

"Malak, your fleet has been destroyed, the Star Forge is going to be bombarded in a few minutes, and you cannot face us both alone, not in the state you're in. If you give up now, you still have a chance at redemption. Please… don't force us to kill you. I beg of you" she reasoned with him. But as it was expected, the only part that Aspyre's words reached was his pride, and he lashed out at them brutally, angered at the perceived taunt.

"DIE!"

Malak swiped a few times at Aspyre, separating her from Bastila and quickly overpowering her, but before he could drive his blade into her chest he was forced to turn around and stop Bastila's attack. With a swift turn, he ducked her second slash and swiped at her, but the sword he had taken from Aspyre was not as long as his and he failed to cut the unprepared padawan. Malak felt Aspyre's boot hitting him on his lower back and he jumped away from them before his brain even registered the pain. As he struggled to keep his breath, Bastila helped Aspyre up and they began circling him, slowly approaching him like a predator does a wounded animal. But Malak was not a wounded animal, he was a Sith Lord, he was the most powerful Sith lord there was, he was the leader of the Sith, he was not going to be defeated by them; he could not be defeated by them. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, feeling the burning sensation on his muscles, using the pain he felt as fuel for his anger and driving even deeper into the Dark Side. One last attack. That was all he could do, but that would be enough, with one last attack he would be able to kill them, he had to kill them. Bastila was the weak link, she was much more tired than Aspyre and he would be able to drive her into submission faster; it was there where he had to strike. Taking a deep breath, he sensed both of his foes. Bastila directly in front of him, Aspyre in the back. Without opening his eyes, he concentrated all his power in his right hand and sent a massive wave of lightning in Aspyre's direction, forcing the Jedi to jump out of the way. With the time he gained, he dashed forward and tackled Bastila. He slashed a few times at her, a cloud of fury covering his eyes and barely allowing him to see his target. He slashed from left to right, from bottom to top, as fast as he could; he only had a few more seconds before Aspyre would attack him again. But something was wrong, Bastila was not tiring, she was not sluggish, she was not careless, she was as sharp as ever, if not even better than she usually as. Without stopping his attack, Malak forced himself to calm down and see the situation clearly, and he barely registered the long blonde hair glowing in front of him before he felt a kick on his chest, forcing him down on his knees. He turned his head to the right and he saw Bastila far away, calmly walking towards him. How had he confused them? How could he have made such a mistake? He was Darth Malak, he was the Dark Lord of The Sith! How could they have fooled him?

"Force Bond" Aspyre softly said as she drove her blade into his chest, the weight of regret heavy in her eyes. "Oh, Alek… I'm so sorry."

"Re-Revan?"

"No… Not anymore."

Bastila walked next to Aspyre and looked down at Malak with something that Aspyre's face did not have. Disgust.

"I guess… I guess you are the nobler Jedi" he said with a hint of sarcasm. It was funny, but now that he was facing his death, with nothing to prove to anybody, with nothing to do but watch and study his life, the choices he made, he felt no more hatred, no more anger, no more pride forcing him to do things against his will. He felt how the Dark Side left his ravaged body, and he eagerly allowed it to. "I wonder… I wonder how things would have turned out… had the roles been reserved. If I had been brainwashed by the Jedi and she had remained."

Aspyre shivered at the thought of never having existed, but said nothing.

"I wonder… what would… what would have happened had Revan never led me down the path of the Dark Side… what would have happened if I had been stronger… if I had resisted."

"It is true that Revan was the one that started you on this path, but it is you who chose to continue. You can't blame her."

"That's true I guess… Revan. I wonder… if that day, in the cliff… if we had agreed to… to leave…" Malak said, and Aspyre felt how she was transported back to one of Revan's memories.

00

_"Have you ever thought… have you ever thought about… leaving?"_

_"The war?"_

_"Everything. Just take as much credits as we can and leave, go to a planet the Mandalorians don't know about and live our lives there, in peace, never having to worry about fighting for our lives, or dealing with galactic tyrants."_

_"I might have, sometimes, but I know that you would not be happy living that life. We both know that you could not turn away from all these people, Revan. Even if you were offered the chance to run away you wouldn't take it. You would be consumed by the flood of guilt that would wash over you."_

_"We have had so many wars, many before we were even born. And many will come after we die. Do you think… do you think that this galaxy will ever know peace?"_

_"I think that there is no way to know that. I think that the only thing we can do is try to make it as peaceful as we can during our time and let the future generations take our place."_

_"… That was very wise my love" Revan said with a beautiful smirk._

00

"If I had… left… with Revan…"

"I don't think either of you would have been happy with that life. In a way, I guess… there really was no way to avoid this" Aspyre said as she looked at Alek's peaceful eyes.

"The… The Star Forge… it's going to be bombed very soon. You… you should leave" Alek said.

"He's right" Bastila said urgently as she eyed the capital ships with a nervous eye.

"I don't want to leave you, Alek. Nobody deserves to die alone."

"Aspyre… you… The council really did a good job when they… created you. Get out. Revan said it… I brought this all… upon myself" he managed to say before he started coughing, the blood having finally opening the cauterized wound and flowing into his windpipe."Get… ou-"

"Aspyre, we need to leave, the Capital ships are almost in position!"

With a swift stroke, Aspyre turned on her lightsaber and cut off Malak's head, sparing him the suffering of having to die by drowning on his own blood. She did her best not to cry when she did, but she failed and tears fell from her eyes as Bastila dragged her away. They had exited the room they were in and had locked the door behind them when they heard and felt an explosion that rocked the entire station.

"They started! Hurry!"


	33. Shot In The Back

Chapter 33

_"I wish this moment lasted forever."_

_ "Me too, love."_

_ "Re-Revan?"_

_ "-__ignore your transgression."_

_ "It is important that you learn from this mistake-"_

_ "I ask that you see reason, passion leads to the dark side-"_

_ "-I will quit the order."_

_ "What for?"_

_ "For helping me find the words."_

_"You cannot win, Revan!"_

_ "-this is going to hurt"_

_ "It's not fair."_

_"Thank you, my love."_

_ "The war?"_

_ "Mandalore-"_

_ "The Jedi would want him alive."_

_ "That is your home, Revan."_

_ "Do you want to learn?"_

_ "And what do you base yourself in?"_

_ "You arrogant little bitch!"_

_ "I tried."_

_ "You look tired."_

_ "-give it to me!"_

"_Revan, Revan, Revan, Revan, Revan, Revan… __Revan!"_

"_What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause?"_

"_-my name is Revan."_

"_Do it, you idiot!"_

"_- you're going to have to kill her."_

"_You're not so bad when you try you know?"_

"_DIE!"_

"_Revan, Revan, Revan, Revan, Revan, Revan… __REVAN!"_

00

Dragging Aspyre as fast as she could, Bastila made her way down the Star Forge. The last thing Aspyre had said was that their space ship was in hangar fourteen-H, which meant they were four floor above it. She spotted the stairs and with began gently lowering Aspyre down them, making sure her head did not hit anything. She had fallen unconscious about two minutes ago, and dragging her had slowed them down considerably. In fact, had she remained conscious, they would probably be at the hangar already. As she gritted her teeth from the effort, Bastila cursed Revan and her very existence with the tiny piece of her mind she wasn't using to concentrate on Aspyre. Finally Aspyre reached floor H and she gently placed her on the ground before running as quickly as she could down the stairs, jumping them three at a time. She picked Aspyre up and threw her arm over her shoulders, picking up the pace when she felt another blast rock the station. The upper lowers had been completely demolished and in a few more minutes they would reach this level, if they weren't back in their ship by that time, or if they had left without them… then there would not be enough time to go down another level and get another ship. Not unless Aspyre woke up that is, but so far she showed no signs of live other than the occasional twitching. Revan was really trying hard to get out. Bastila silently wished Aspyre luck and turned right, checking the number as she moved past them. 10… 11... 12… almost there.

00

They didn't have much time. The computer indicated they had twenty percent left in the energy reserves, and they needed at least ten to get to Rakata Prime.

"We… We can't wait much longer" Canderous heard behind him. The furious Mandalorian turned around and faced the Republic Pilot. He was much younger than him, probably by fifteen or twenty years, but he looked just as tired and exhausted from all the combat he had seen as he was. It was strange, despite his claim that he was not like him, that he fled the memories about the horrors of war, about protecting the innocent. Carth was not that different from him. They both were extremely skilled warriors, they both fought, and killed for what they believed in, and they both wanted desperately for Aspyre to return.

"We still have twenty percent left. We can still wait."

"I wasn't talking about the power… The Republic has already bombed the upper levels, they will reach this one soon. The Admiral won't stop the attack, you know that."

"We can still wait" he angrily snapped at him.

"We can't risk getting caught in the explosion, even if we are out of the station, the blast it will create when they reach the core could take us out!"

"We have taken bigger chances, we can take that one" the stubborn Mandalorian shot back.

"I have a son!" he snapped back, taking a step forward and placing his face a few centimeters away from his, the first time anybody had ever done that to Canderous. He looked into his serious eyes. Intense determination to live was burning inside them, but the worry he had for Aspyre was evident too. He didn't want to leave without her, but he had to think about his kid.

"We still have a few minutes… P… Please" Canderous said, uttering the word without any hint of sarcasm for the first time in all his years.

The Republic pilot would have expected a fist, a kick, an insult, a clever remark from the Mandalorian, but not that final word, and he stood silent, surprised at the request that had left his mouth. The warrior and the soldier stood still for a few seconds that felt like an eternity, until the shorter one finally nodded and softly spoke.

"At least let me prep the ship, it will take a few minutes, we can give Aspyre that much time."

"Good" he said as he left the cockpit. _"Thank you"_ he thought.

The Mandalorian quickly walked past the silent Twi-lek, who had by now decided she had seen absolutely everything in the galaxy. She tried to say something, but something inside her told her she should be quiet, at least for now. Canderous had almost reached the bunker when he heard Carth scream from the cockpit at everybody. He rushed back and stared at the spot the pilot was pointing at with his finger before running towards the hatch, grabbing his repeater on the way out. He barely noticed Zaalbar grabbing the last two blasters they had left and running beside him, or Mission taking out her rifle with the last power pack, or Jolee running out with them, or T3 rolling next to them and opening his cannons. The image of Bastila crouching next to Aspyre, deflecting all those shots with a Force shield was taking too much space on his mind to comprehend anything else.

00

Bastila felt as drained as she could be, but she couldn't lower her shield. She had almost fainted when she saw the numerous soldiers in the hangar. She had for a split second hoped that she would be able to use her former status as Malak's apprentice to persuade them to make way for her, at least for a while before they noticed what she actually wanted to do, but they had fired on her the second she had opened the hangar door. She did her best to hold her shield, but they were firing from all directions, and she felt every blaster bolt slowly weaken her mental barricade.

"Aspyre, please wake up" she whispered through clenched teeth. "Aspyre… my love, I need you. Wake up. Please, wake up!"

A grenade exploded right next to her shield and she uttered a grunt as she felt a small crack appear, which she quickly closed. Her head was pounding, the pressure was building, and soon she was going to break. So this was it. This was how Bastila Shan's life ended, next to her lover, shot to death by hundreds of faceless grunts that probably did not even understand why they were trying to kill them. She opened her eyes and looked at Aspyre's calm face for a few seconds, deciding that it wasn't so bad to die if she was going to die with her. She only wished she was awake.

00

Without even taking cover, Canderous set his repeater to max power and pressed the trigger, mowing down dozens of soldiers that had their backs turned to him. Normally he would have inwardly noticed how stupid they were, to leave their backs uncovered, to not be prepared for everything, but not now. Now he simply shot his opponents to create a gap so he could advance, and then shoot them again and advance again until he reached Bastila and Aspyre. He did not even notice Zaalbar throwing himself at a group of soldiers and pulling one's arms off his sockets. He did not notice Jolee throwing his blade into the mat of enemies and he did not notice Mission placing a clean headshot on a Sith that was going to drive a vibroblade on his back. He kept shooting until his repeater ran out of energy and then he hurled it at them as he took out his knife and kept moving forward, slowly pushing them back. He slashed one's throat, broke a leg and drove his knife on a helmet, he threw it at a figure in front of him and pulled it out before it hit the ground, he grabbed another figure by the throat and slammed it hard on the ground before stomping on the faceless helmet, hearing a sick cracking sound under his boot. The Sith began noticing him, and they began to keep their distance, their empty weapons offering them no protection from the enraged Mandalorian.

00

She lowered her shield and turned on her red blade, quickly cutting down the first idiot that tried to hurt Aspyre. She mercilessly drove her blade into his heart and pulled it out just as quickly, blocking a vibroblade and cutting off her attacker's arm. She threw her blade at the enemies farthest away from the ship, quickly guiding it threw the thick group of enemies. She tried to return it to her hand, but she felt a blaster bolt hit her in her right shoulder and she fell on the ground, next to Aspyre. Using what little control she had left, Bastila kept her lightsaber spinning, and managed to cut the ones that were firing at them, at least she thought she had. She was slowly getting up when she felt another bolt connect with her leg and going straight through. She felt how her nerves where ripped apart and how the surrounding skin was burnt by the energy of the blast. She felt a shock that spread through her entire body and she realized she had been shot again in her neck, barely missing the aorta and surviving by a miracle. Her vision became blurry and she began hearing a ringing sound in her ears. It was only when she received another shot in her leg that she realized that she was screaming. She fell down to the ground completely this time, her breathing fast and irregular. Numbness spread through her body and she couldn't feel her legs. She needed air, but the screams pouring out of her throat prevented her from breathing in. She managed to open her eyes and she saw a large brown figure standing next to her. A figure that roared at her. Zaalbar. She managed point her finger at Aspyre and the wookie bent over and picked her up. Just when he was leaving she saw another wave of bolts fly their way and collide against his back. Zaalbar let out a furious roar as he fell down on the ground, barely getting the unconscious Aspyre out of the way before he fell down to the ground too. Bastila saw with horror in her eyes how a Sith wearing red armor walked towards Aspyre with his vibroknife drawn, ready to stab her in the back. Using the last of her strength, Bastila pulled the knife out of his hand and shoved it on his neck, killing the confused trooper instantly. She was roughly turned around and saw a white armor looking down at her. The Sith stepped on her leg and she let out another screeching shriek that was probably heard by the entire Star Forge as the pain allowed her to feel her legs again.

00

Aspyre heard something very far away. Something barely audible hundreds of feet away from her. Just barely outside of her hearing range. What was that? It sounded like a wounded animal, helplessly howling at his attacker. It sounded like a helpless infant, crying for its mother. She tried to open her eyes, but she was really tired. She tried to move her arms but she couldn't feel them. She felt herself being lifted up and carried before she fell roughly down again. She heard somebody scream her name and she managed to flutter her eyelids. And then she heard it again, but no longer a tine whisper, but rather a howling shriek that her woke her completely from her nightmare. She registered the image in front of her. A Sith trooper, his rifle drawn and aimed at Bastila's head, stepping on her leg forcefully and making her scream out in agony.

Never had Aspyre Venar felt hatred in her short life. She had felt fear, regret, melancholy, joy, anxiety, frustration and curiosity, but she had never felt hatred, until that moment, when her body was completely filled with it. She wanted to destroy that man, she wanted to kill him, no she wanted to torture him, she wanted to thrash him about, she wanted to kill his children in front of his eyes, she wanted to use the Force to make him strangle his wife with his hands, she wanted to show him his parents burning bodies, she wanted to destroy his entire life and everything related with him. But because she didn't have time she had to settle with sending a wave lightning his way. The soldier screamed in pain as the lightning traversed his body and entered it, quickly scorching his skin before moving inside his organs and rendering them useless. Aspyre kept going until she was sure his remains would be nothing more than just ash and she quickly stood up and ran toward her lover.

"Bastila! Bastila?"

"Aspyre?" she weakly said. "You woke up… finally."

"Bastila" she wept as she looked at her ravaged body. Two large burnt marks were on her right leg. Another one was located in her right shoulder and she had a small mark on her neck, where another blaster bolt had hit her. It was too much for Aspyre. It was too much killing, too much suffering, too much pain, too much destruction, and hatred, and she snapped. She forgot everything else and stood up, facing the crowd of Sith in front of her. She quickly saw at every one of them. She saw the small group that was fighting Jolee, she saw the single one that was running towards Zaalbar, she saw the three that were trying to shoot Mission and she saw the ones crouching under cover from T3's blasts. With a scream that carried all her sorrow, all her pain, and all her anger, Aspyre placed her hands together and fired the most powerful Force wave she had ever thrown in her entire life. She lifted every single Sith soldier that was in that hangar and she sent them flying against the wall located so many meters away. With another scream she pushed them harder, and she began noticing how their screams died in the chest due to the fact that she was pressing on their chests furiously. Without releasing them from her iron grip she lifted a damaged fighter she saw with the glimpse of her eye and threw it at them as fast as she could. The fighter crashed against the center of the group, killing them instantly before Aspyre focused on the hyperdrive and detonated it. The explosion filled the hangar and it almost reached her and the small group of survivors on the side of the hangar. She saw Bastila moving near her feet but she ignored her and pushed the wreckage even harder, flattening it against the dead troopers and pulverizing their bones. She screamed one more time before she felt her entire body go numb and she hit the floor again, darkness taking over her vision.

00

"We did it! The Star Forge is almost destroyed! Master Vaandar we have stopped the Sith!" Dodona happily exclaimed, much to the surprise of every single person in the bridge.

"Yes… But at what cost, Admiral? Where is the _Black Ark_ and its crew, where is Carth Onasi, Aspyre Venar, where are they? Have they escaped the Star Forge?" the small Jedi sadly asked.

"Has any ship left the Star Forge?"

"Negative Admiral!"

Dodona was silent as she turned around and faced the Star Forge. They still had not escaped the facility, and soon their bolts would reach the main reactor, and the Star Forge would be blown to bits, obliterating every ship in a very large range. If they did escape very soon they would be caught in the blast. But what chance did they have of escaping, the station was mere minutes away from detonating, and there was nothing she could do to stop it, even if her ship stopped bombardment, the rest surely would not listen and continue their assault.

00

Carth was not going to die in that place. There was no way he was going to let his son be blown along with this curse space station. Clenching his teeth in frustration he lifted the ship and made sure the hatch was closed, with a quick thrust he sent the _Black Ark _forward, blasting through the energy shield as racing through the wreckage of hundreds of ships that surrounded the Star Forge, barely dodging the large chunks of metal that threatened to destroy their ship. He quickly turned the ship's nose towards the planet below and sent all the remaining power to the engines. He silently wished everybody was holding on to something and he dived directly towards the planet, slightly akin to how _The Ebon Hawk _had crashed earlier that day. They were still inside the Star Forge's predicted blast range, and Carth silently hope that it wouldn't turned out to be large than that. He pushed the ship even faster and once he had calculated they were far enough he saw a bright light that filled the sky coming from the rear.

"Everybody hang on!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as the light grew brighter and brighter.

The ship rocked forward wildly and Carth lost control for a few seconds before he activated the secondary thrusters and managed to push the ship faster, aiming directly for Lehon. It didn't matter if he had to crash land again, what mattered was getting out of the blast's range. Carth saw how the light began creeping on the cockpit, slowly covering his view until it became a white veil that blinded him completely. The ship began to lurch and turn wildly and Carth heard how a few moans of pain coming from the back of the ship. Probably Mission's. The ship began shaking ever harder and Carth could fell the vibrations making his teeth chatter and shake violently, threatening to smash them in a million pieces.

"We're almost out!" he yelled when he saw that the light began to fade back. He managed to catch a glimpse of a large plain stretching a few hundred kilometers away from them and he began easing on the controls. They were out, they were safe. Letting out a long sigh, Carth closed his eyes for a few seconds as the grass plains began growing in side. They entered the atmosphere and Carth made a very smooth descent for the first time in a while. He softly landed the ship and without turning off the power he ran back to the main room, where he found Dustil, Mission, Zaalbar, Jolee and an unconscious Canderous thrown about in the room. Zaalbar looked seriously hurt, but Jolee was already working on him, and the old Jedi assured him and Mission that he would live. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, dad. Don't worry about me. Nice to have a smooth landing for a change, eh?" Dustil softly replied as he held Mission on his arms.

"Where's Aspyre?"

"In the cargo hold… she's unconscious, but she's fine, we strapped her on tightly to make sure she wouldn't get hurt."

"Canderous?" he asked as he pointed to the massive bulk thrown over the food synthesizer.

"He hit his head when the Star Forge exploded, but he'll live. His healing implant already kicked in, when he wakes up he's going to be better than the rest of us" Jolee mumbled without moving his hands from Zaalbar's injuries.

Carth nodded and turned around, heading for the cargo hold. He found Aspyre, tightly strapped and sitting in the benches located in the wall. He did not expect, however, to find Bastila holding on to her, gripping her hand and whispering in her ear, pleading for her to wake up.

"Bastila" he muttered at his former friend.

"Carth" she replied very weakly, and the regret was evident in her eyes, although he chose not to address that topic just yet. "Carth… you have to wake her up. Revan… I think Revan is taking over, you have to wake Aspyre up before it's too… late."

"You turned your back on the Dark Side, then?"

"She brought me back… There's no time to explain. Take her to Jolee… he can help her."

"What happened to you?" he asked as he unhooked the unconscious girl.

"I got shot" she said as he held her burnt neck softly.

"I'll be back" he coldly said, ignoring the Rancor in the room for the time being. He entered the main room again and he carefully laid Aspyre in the only table they had. "Jolee. Bastila said that Revan's taking over, can you help her?"

The older Jedi wiped his brow and stood up, done for the time being with the young wookie.

"We have a few med packs in the bay, inject him one, that should finish closing his wounds" he ordered Mission while he walked towards Aspyre. "Let's see. This shouldn't be too hard. Lad, can you help me?"

"Me?" Dustil asked.

"No, the knocked out mercenary. Yes, you! Come here, I'm weak after healing Zaalbar, so you're going to have to do most of the work. I'll guide you and show you the ropes, after that you're on your own."

"Alright. We just have to soothe her, right?"

"Yeah… Okay, let's give it a try."

Carth left the two Jedi doing their business and went to the med bay, where Mission was scavenging the drawers for med packs.

"Where the hell are they?"

"Here" he said with raised eyebrows as he opened the first drawer labeled "Med Packs".

"Oh… Thanks" she hastily said as she took one and ran back to her friend. Carth grabbed a few ones himself and headed over to the cargo hold, were he found Bastila with her eyes closed and holding her leg, breathing softly and shallowly.

"Let me see" he said as he stretched her leg. Bastila whimpered softly and Carth began pulling up her pant leg until he reached her thigh, were the two blaster bolts were located. He stared dumbfounded at the hundreds of scars and marks in her leg. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Malak" she breathed softly. Carth quickly injected her right above the injury and applied some kolto in her wound, which quickly began healing and closing, as well as removing some of the scars. "He never stopped torturing me."

"How long?" Carth said, trying to keep the sympathy out of his voice, at least for now. It wouldn't be long before the Admiral contacted them, and she would want answers, and he wanted to have the full story before she did.

"I don't know… I lost track of time… I couldn't think."

Carth opened her outer robe and lowered it to reveal her shoulder, completely immovable from the damage.

"There's nerve damage" he said when he poked softly at her wound and Bastila failed to respond. "How many times where you shot?"

"Four… I think."

Carth continued taking care of her wounds for a few minutes before he finally felt like he had to ask.

"Why did you join him? Why did you betray us?"

Bastila bit her lip and was quiet for a few seconds, trying hard to keep the tears from escaping her eyes.

"I… I thought… I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I… I was weak Carth. I was so afraid of falling to the Dark Side, and Malak… he was a really good torturer. He… he tortured me physically, mentally… emotionally… until I finally broke, and he twisted the way I thought. I truly believed that joining him was in my best interests, he made me forget my own values, my own moral code, and I fell into his clutches."

"She was crushed, you know."

"I… I know… And I'm prepared to face whatever punishment the Republic and the Jedi order will have for me."

"Let me see your neck."

Bastila removed her hand and tensed up when she felt the cold gel entering her wound. It was strange. She thought by now that the kolto and the med pack would have kicked in, but if anything she felt even weaker than before, and her entire back had gone numb. She felt Carth turn her around softly and she heard him breathe in sharply before he placed her back.

"What?" she softly asked. The last letter sounded a little weird, probably because some warm liquid was creeping into her mouth. The pilot looked at her with eyes that had both worry and guilt in them.

"You've been shot in the back."


	34. A Sea Of Death, Intolerance And Hate

Chapter 34

In Tatooine a man died. His corpse was found in the dune sea. It had been rotting for several days and his face was unrecognizable. He was carrying two blaster pistols, a single thermal detonator, a med pack and just enough water to stay a few hours out there. He was never recognized, he was never given a name, and his possessions where never reclaimed by some family member. He stayed at the morgue for a few days before they buried him in the same place where they had found him, almost exactly the same as they had found him, nobody even wanted those lousy blasters of his. He wasn't important, and because he was not important in life, his death was unimportant as well. Can you imagine his story? Can you imagine the places he saw, the people he met, the lives he changed, the lives he ended, the impact he had on the universe? He could be the most uninteresting man that had ever lived. He could have grown in Tatooine and spent his time hunting, to finally die in the dune sea. Or he could have been a very important political or military leader in some far away system, coming to Tatooine to negotiate some important deal that could have altered the lives of millions of citizens. Or he could have been a bounty hunter, coming after his target. No one will ever know. Why should you know? He's dead isn't he? Why he died is of no consequence to anybody. Of course it's not. He is just another faceless victim of the harsh reality of the life. He is simply another corpse occupying valuable space in the galaxy. He has no story and his existence was of no consequence… But he did have a story.

His name was Arsis Mayus; he was the father of two, and the grandfather of one. Owner of a small house on the east of Tatooine. At the time of his death he was eighty three years old by Coruscant years. He had spent most of his life trying to amass a large fortune, enough to allow him to buy a space ship that would allow him and his two children to leave Tatooine and go explore the galaxy. He never stopped pursuing his dream. The reason he went to the dune sea that day was to get his fortune from his hidden stash. He wandered for hours, trying to locate the place where he had hidden his credits. He was very thirsty, but he resolved to keep his water supply for the way back, when he would really need it. He managed to spot the rock that marked the way towards his stash. Everything was going according to plan, until his old bones gave and he fell down a dune, breaking his hip and right leg on the way down. He tried to get up and crawl back to town, but the harsh winds made the sands of the dune sea cover him, until he was buried in a large pile of sand, where he would remain for years, until by chance someone found him. Arsis' last wish was to have a drink of water. That was all he wanted to do before he died, but his mouth was full of sand, and his arms were immobilized by the crushing weight of the tiny grains on top of him, and he died before he was able to fulfill either of his wishes. His legacy was never known, his children never knew what happened to him, and any trace of his existence disappeared when they travelled to Dantooine. His great grandchildren never knew his name, and they never bothered to find out who he was.

Just like Arsis, many soldiers died in the Jedi civil war, many died during the Exar Kun war, even more died during the Mandalorian Wars, and especially the battle over Malachor V and many would continue to die in future wars, nameless faces and corpses in a sea of death, intolerance and hate.

00

Thousands of sentient beings died every hour. Hundreds died due to violent causes, hundreds died of disease, hundreds died of natural causes, and some died because they sacrificed themselves for somebody else. Every day, every hour, every single minute a sentient being died. So why did it matter if another number is added to the already impressive count? Why did it matter if another war consumed the universe and people fought and died. It had always been that way. Since the Force Wars, and even eons before that, people have always fought and died. Some fought because they were drove by greed, others by honor, others by bloodlust, others to protect. But the result was always the same, people fought, and people died, and a few selected individuals grew more powerful, while others lost it all.

The Jedi are peacekeepers, they are guardians, protectors. They are selfless; they study the Force with the intent of using it for good. They protect the weak from those that would harm them; they kept the peace and order in planets where the local authorities were unable to do so.

But still people died. Still they were robbed, kidnapped and murdered by others.

Why was it? Had the Jedi failed in their mission as peacekeepers? Or was it the will of the Force?

So many soldiers had died in the Jedi civil war. So many lives had ended prematurely. So many soldiers had died on both sides fighting for what they believed. Some fought to preserve their way of live, others fought to impose theirs. But what gave either side the right to be correct? Who determined if accepting another way of life, or killing to maintain it was right or wrong?

It didn't matter. The answers to those questions were not to be found in a lifetime, or ten. Much less in the few minutes Bastila had left of her life. The young Jedi Padawan had managed to stand up and make her way out of the ship when Carth had gone to the cockpit to call for immediate medical attention for her. But all the doctors in the Republic were busy healing other soldiers, why should they stop for her? Why was she more important than the rest? She wasn't. No matter what the Jedi had told her, no matter how many times they had tried to pound into her skull that she was special, that she was unique, that she was invaluable, at the end of her life, Bastila had decided that she wasn't, she was just like the rest, who fought and died for obscure reasons they weren't meant to understand.

It hurt of course, finally accepting that she was just another nameless casualty in a war that had actually nothing to do with her, but it took a weight of her shoulders. She was just a faceless warrior, and because she was faceless, because she had no identity, she had nothing to prove, she no longer had to do absolutely anything other than die, and she was going to do that shortly. For a second her mind drifted back to the first time she met Revan. They didn't speak, she was just an apprentice at the time, and Revan was only recruiting from Padawan and above…

00

_"You're doing it wrong!"_

_ "I'll do it any way I want! Stop nagging me, Bastila!"_

_ "But you have to do it the right way! Do it like me!"_

_ "NO! Go away!"_

_ Bastila left the training room, feeling the heavy sting of dejection yet again. Why did they hurt her so? Why did they make her feel like that? It's not like she was hurting them, or bothering them, she was just advising them. She just wanted to help, but they pushed her away. She walked down the stone hallway, doing her best to keep the tears from swimming out of her eyes, when she saw a cloaked figure crossing the main courtyard, long golden hair flowing through the air behind it. Bastila immediately recognized the figure as Revan and she felt her eyes widen with surprise, just like every time she had the lucky chance of looking at her. Revan half-turned around to say something to the young man next to her, Alek was his name. Bastila saw how Revan pulled a few Jedi with her index finger and the small group walked towards the council chambers, drawing to themselves a very heavy aura. She stared at Revan's figure until she turned around and she exited her field of view. Why was she so much better than everybody else? How did she do it? Revan was only two years older than Bastila, yet she was already a Jedi Knight, and she had already heard Master Zhar say that she was bound to be the youngest Jedi Master in the history of the order. Bastila sat down in the courtyard, sadly playing with her practice lightsaber, mechanically turning it on and off. It wasn't fair. She closed her eyes and did her best to feel around her, but just as usual, whenever Revan was close, all she felt was her overwhelming presence. It was mighty, but soothing, it was brutal, but kind, it was frightening, but merciful, it was unique. She opened her eyes and the sound of a voice calling her name._

_ "-wan Shan!"_

_ "Ah! Yes, Master?"_

_ "I assume that you are done with your readings?"_

_ "Ah… No, Master, I'll head to the library right away!"_

00

Who would have guessed back then that she would become Revan's savior a few years later? And who would have guessed that she would become Aspyre's lover mere months later? And who would have guessed she would fall to the Dark Side… and try to kill her. It was strange, but now that she was faced with a similar situation, she understood Malak. She understood his words, his concerns, she understood the man for who he really was. She too wondered what would have happened if Malak had been captured, not Revan. She probably wouldn't have fallen for him, she thought with a tiny smile. But they probably wouldn't have been able to defeat Revan. What would have happened to their universe, if Revan had succeeded in creating her empire? Or if the Mandalorians had won the war? She would have loved to ponder on that thought, but she had very little time left, and right now she wanted to think about other things. Things like… Aspyre. She pressed her back against the ship's metal hull and began sliding down as best she could, but she ended up simply falling down as the numbness reached her upper back, she took a deep breath through her nose and pushed it out of her mouth, sending the dust particles away from her mouth and allowing her to breathe normally, or as normally as a person with a pierced stomach and intestine could.

She remembered the first time she had laid eyes on Aspyre, back in Taris. She had done a quick summersault to press her back against her, but in the commotion of the fight she had not identified her until it was over. She had showed her nothing but kindness from the second they had met, she had always placed her first, and she had never done anything to upset her. She was the perfect human being. Too bad she wasn't real. But still, she doubted a person as marvelous and beautiful as Aspyre could ever be born. It was not natural, and in fact, had Aspyre been born, society would have changed her, she definitely would not have turned out that way. She closed her eyes and imagined herself in an immense plain. Dantooine. The sun was rising, and she and Aspyre were resting in the soft grass, letting the cool air run through their bodies. They were holding hands, with closed eyes, allowing their brains to be flooded by the plethora of sensations they were experiencing at the moment. Aspyre rolled on top of her and without opening her eyes snuggled on top of her, and she wrapped her arms around her, softly caressing her long hair as she did.

"Bastila?" she heard. She opened her eyes and the image in front of her eyes of the beautiful, fresh looking Aspyre vanished and was replaced by and image of Carth, carrying a very tired and dirtied Aspyre towards her.

"Hi" she breathed, trying really hard not to get any sand in her mouth. She still hadn't managed to sit up and she was still thrown in the ground, her black robes, now covered in sand and dust. Carth placed the silent Aspyre next to her and softly lifted her up. The pilot looked at the two of them and without saying a word he entered the ship again. Aspyre placed her arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer to her, resting Bastila's head in her fragile neck.

"How are you feeling?"

"Numb… Like I'm falling asleep" she whispered.

_"Let me help you" _Aspyre begged her through their bond.

"Concentrating to talk to you like that is too hard right now, but no thanks… Not much you can do… I…"

Aspyre closed her eyes and place her hand over Bastila's wound, forcefully healing it, before the younger Padawan managed to push her hand away.

"Bastila, please!"

"My stomach… and my intestines and destroyed… You can't heal that. Not in the condition you're in… Besides I don't want to spend the rest of my life watching you drain yourself… for nothing."

"Bastila… I can't bear to watch you like this" Aspyre sobbed as she hugged her tightly.

"Me neither, love… but… I just want to stay like this… for a while longer… Okay?" she asked her. Aspyre sputtered something Bastila couldn't understand, probably the tears, but she nodded fiercely before she held Bastila ever tighter and pressed her face against hers. "We've come a long way… don't you think?"

"Yeah… I never thought…. I never thought I… I would meet somebody like you, Bastila Shan. No matter… no matter what I said, you know I love you, right?"

"I know… Aspyre."

"I know that… I know I'm not real. I know that I wasn't meant to be… I know I'm a freak… but… I'm really glad that the Jedi council created me, because… Because I got to meet you" she sobbed as best she could.

"I don't… think you're a freak. I think Revan's the freak, you're the normal one, love… I'm also very glad I met you… The only thing… I regret…"

"What?" Aspyre asked. Something told her she wasn't going to say turning to the Dark Side.

"We should have told Mission… yes" she said with a tiny grin.

Despite everything, despite the pain she was in, the sorrow she felt, the fear that was creeping in her chest, Aspyre laughed at Bastila's joke. Now that was something that wasn't seen every day, and she wasn't going to let something so rare go to waste.

"Don't make me laugh, you… stupid" she said as she pressed her forehead against Bastila's and kissed her lips softly. "Now's not the right time… We'll wait… until you get better and then you can…"

"Don't…"

"Bas-"

"Don't do that to yourself" Bastila said with the last of her strength. "Please… Aspyre. I need you to promise… Let me go."

"Bastila" Aspyre began, clearly going to object, but Bastila wasn't having any of it, not right now.

"Promise! Swear to me!"

For a second Aspyre remained silent, and Bastila felt the numbness reach her neck, she felt tears reaching her eyes and she was unable to hold them back. A sharp pain was sent down her back and she realized the wounds had opened again. Aspyre looked down at the blood gushing out of her wounds and after shedding thick tears into the ground, she nodded softly and held Bastila in her arms.

"Thank you" she softly said before the numbness crept up her neck and completely consumed her. And Bastila Shan died, not in a blaze of glory, not selflessly saving a child from peril, not stopping countless hordes of enemies, not trying to prevent a disaster of epic proportions, not leading an assault on an enemy installation. No. She simply died, quietly and peacefully, another faceless victim of yet another unimportant war.

00

"Aspyre Venar was a desperate project" Master Vaandar explained Admiral Dodona and Carth Onasi slowly. "She was conceived when Revan was brought to us by Bastila. Her mind had been so damaged that there was no way we could restore it. Her physical wounds were nothing we could not heal, but her mind was beyond our abilities."

"So you simply created a persona that would help you find the Star Forge" Carth rudely butted in.

"In a manner of speaking, Captain. Unfortunately we did not have the time to get an expert to Dantooine in time, we would have lost her. We were forced to act. In order to keep Revan locked in, we gave her new memories, completely new ones, hopefully different enough from Revan's that there would be no way she would ever resurface."

"What do you mean, Master?" Admiral Dodona asked, very intrigued at the type of memories a heroine like Revan could have had.

"Revan had a rather uneventful childhood, except for her Jedi training and the occasional dangerous situation she found herself in, she never experienced a situation that really threatened her life, at least until the Mandalorian wars. Because of this, she was unable to truly understand the value of life, because hers had never been threatened, _really_ threatened. Of course, we did our best to teach her the value of all sentient life, and to a certain degree she knew and accepted it, but she never understood, not like Aspyre."

"What did you do to her?" Carth said with narrowed eyes.

"We threatened her life. We gave her parents that died in an accident, we made her live in the streets were she had to fight to survive, we made her feel like life was taken away from her, and we made her come out stronger than ever. And you saw the results, just like we had expected, Aspyre is a benevolent, kind hearted, merciful, selfless, merciful and powerful Jedi, maybe the best there had ever been. Incorruptible."

"And single minded."

"Yes, that too. We could not risk her trying to reach all areas of her mind and reaching Revan. It would have spelled doom if she was unleashed."

"But Revan was unleashed, several times actually. And Aspyre is now aware of what she is, she is aware of Revan, and she hasn't broken down."

"It is a matter of time… I'm afraid we are going to have to erase her, try to get Revan back, and help her reach the light again."

"Are you insane? You can't let Revan loose! There's too much risk!" Dodona intervened.

"And you can't do that to Aspyre… I won't allow it."

Vaandar's head slowly turned to face Carth, who had his hand dangerously close to his blaster.

"We have no choice, as I said before, Aspyre Venar was a desperate project, we were unable to plan the long term consequences of her existence, and we don't know what could happen. She could revert back into Revan completely, or she could continue in an eternal struggle against her."

"Or she could take Revan out, you don't know that either!"

"It's too dangerous, Captain Onasi. I understand this is difficult for you, it is also to me. But we have to think about the good of the galaxy, or the millions of millions of sentient beings that would be at risk should she be allowed free."

"So you're going to kill her. You're going to kill the savior of the Republic?"

"She is also the destroyer of the Republic, Carth" Dodona softly said.

"Admiral! You can't approve this!"

"Carth... This war has been the most costly war ever in the history of the Republic, and given that it was caused by the Mandalorian war; people are going to want answers. People are going to need somebody to blame for all this death and destruction, and they are going to blame Revan. They need a scapegoat, and if Aspyre is left to roam free, she is going to become that scapegoat. Maybe not now, but people will eventually find out she is Revan, and they are going to hunt her down. Her and anybody she is with."

"Admiral, she is a heroine! She saved countless lives! Including yours" he said he said as he looked at both of them with a look of disgust "I will not allow her hard work, her sacrifice to be thrown to waste like that. She had nothing to do with this war. She was forced into doing this, and still she did it, selflessly. She had no interest and no gain in this war; she simply did what she was told! You treated her no better than a slave! And now that she has fulfilled her purpose, you want to dispose of her… You two are no better than the Sith" he spat out before at them.

"Carth… I cannot even begin to imagine how hard this must be for you, but please… At least we need to talk to her and explain everything to the senate. We can decide what to do later. Is that acceptable?" Dodona offered, extending her hands to both men. Vaandar was silent for a few seconds before he nodded once and closed his big green eyes. Carth stood still, his back turned to them, before he nodded and left.

00

Mission Vao stood in silence, watching her friend clutch her lover's dead body like her life depended on it. Not really thinking about anything, just… watching her.

00

Canderous woke up with a pounding headache that did not let him open his eyes without sending a blinding flash of pain across his brain. He waited for a few more minutes, until his healing implant kicked in and he managed to stand up. He was inside the ship, apparently alone. He made a quick memory check of what had happened. He had fought his way out, they got Aspyre and Bastila inside the ship and they took off. Then the explosion filled the sky and the ship shook really bad. He must have hit his head against the wall or the table or something, because after that he only remembered standing up. Holding on to the wall, Canderous made his way to the outside of the ship, were he found Zaalbar, Mission, T3, HK and Jolee looking over at Aspyre, who was silently holding Bastila, not unlike the way a child would hold a doll. He walked over to them and tapped Mission on the shoulder, the young girl turned around, tears in her eyes, and she silently confirmed the princess was dead. Taking a few heavier steps, Canderous managed to get closer to Aspyre and finally sat down next to her. She barely moved. Slowly, he grabbed her hands and began prying loose the iron grip that she had on Bastila's corpse, until she slowly turned her head and registered his presence. She whispered something he did not hear and threw her arms around him, silently crying on his shoulder. He wished that she wouldn't hold on to his bruised shoulder so tightly, but said nothing as he softly patted her back.

00

"It's not easy getting old, eh?"

"Why ask me? You seem to have a lot more experience in that area" Canderous shot back at the wrinkled Jedi.

"Oh… that hurt, son, that really did" Jolee said with a chuckle.

"When do you think they are going to be done with her? It's been three hours!" Mission interrupted for the fourth time in one hour.

"Please, Mission, do us all a favor and go to sleep. I swear I will wake you when Aspyre comes back" Zaalbar softly roared to her.

Mission poked her tongue at him and went to her bed, snuggling next to the already sleeping Dustil. She tried to fall asleep, she really tried, but after several hours had passed, and she checked her watch, which told her only two minutes had gone by since she last checked it, she opened her eyes and began looking at the rest of the room. Canderous and Jolee were sitting opposite of each other in the only table in the room, looking at their hands and talking softly. Zaalbar was laying down in his bed, with his eyes closed, but Mission knew he wasn't really asleep, only resting his eyes. HK and T3 were patiently waiting for their Master in a corner of the room. She raised her head and looked at Dustil. The boy was knocked out, she poked his check, his nose, his neck and finally his eyes, but he did not even move, so she gave up. Frowning her brow, she began thinking what she could do to pass the time and she suddenly remembered her Pazaak decks left behind so far away inside the Ebon Hawk.

_"But you don't like it anymore" _she whispered to herself.

_"Sure I do… I miss it."_

_ "I thought you had grown up."_

_ "Well… I guess I don't want to grow up… Not just yet" _she thought to herself with a smile on her face as she started softly poking Dustil's nose again.

00

It had been a very, very long day, and Aspyre simply wanted it to end so she could sleep. She felt drained, and strange like something was missing. After much poking around her own body and mind she realized it was the Force Bond. It was strange, but even when Bastila turned to the Dark Side, their bond was still there, it was shut, but it was there. Now there was nothing. Had they not shared a bond, she would have not believed Bastila had died. She looked so peaceful, it seemed she was sleeping. But the cold hard undeniable evidence was there, their Force Bond had been severed, and she was left alone.

Being held in that Force Cage was not helping. She was in the standard meditating position, with her hair wrapped around her torso to prevent it from burning. Despite telling, and proving to them that she could turn off the cage with her mind, the Admiral still asked her to step inside. As a token of good faith, she had said. Aspyre took a deep breath and waited as patiently as she could. She remembered the Jedi code for the first time in quite a while.

There is no emotion, there is peace. Liars. She was being flooded with emotions, and she could barely keep them in check. She wanted to cry, to scream, to punch walls, to kick things, to pull her hair and rip it off, to bite her knuckles. There was emotion, and the Jedi were wrong to try to keep them in check. Emotions are not meant to be controlled like impulses. They were meant to be accepted and understood, embraced and lived, before she could discard them. That was the first thing she would tell Master Vaandar when she got out.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. Ignorance was a curse, she would not discuss that, but sometimes. Other times, ignorance was bliss, and right now there were many things she wished she was ignorant of.

There is no passion, there is serenity. Yet another lie. In this she accepted the code of the Sith. Passion made us stronger, passion motivated us to accomplish our goals, but passion was not meant to be the wild unbuckled flood of emotions and thought that the Sith suffered from, passion was not meant to be the excuse beneath which they justified their atrocious actions. Aspyre's passion had been Bastila, it was her friends, it was… Canderous… it was living life, and that made her stronger, it made her more willing to try to achieved her goals and stand up for what she believed.

There is no chaos, there is harmony. Harmony? Harmony? There was no harmony, not on Rakata Prime, not on Taris, not on Dantooine, not on Manaan, not on Korriban, not on Coruscant, not on Tatooine, not in this galaxy. If anything chaos ruled them, and they only tried to bring some semblance of control and order to the galaxy. Harmony? Please.

There is no death, there is the Force. This was the biggest lie she had heard from the Jedi. There is no death. Those words stung her, and it hurt to even think about them. Bastila had died. She had died just like Zaphycort before her, and Trask, and Juhani, and all those Jedi on the Enclave, and all those Republic troops on the Endar Spire, and the people of Taris, and those wookies on Kashyyyk, the Selkath in Manaan, the Sith in Korriban, the pilots and troopers in the Battle for the Star Forge… and Malak. They had all died, and she had felt their deaths in her conscience somehow, she felt like she had failed them all. There was death, there was a lot of death, and the Force was not going to help her with that, not when her time came. Death took them and took everybody from her, and the Force simply observed.

She heard footsteps approaching and she opened her eyes, landing her gaze on the figure of Carth Onasi and Admiral Dodona walking her way, followed by six security officers and what seemed like a politician between them.

"Aspyre" Carth greeted her with tired eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Not good, Sir" she replied with a serious face.

"Sir?" Dodona asked with a confused look.

"Captain Onasi is my superior officer, Admiral. I was never promoted, and with all the crew from the Endar Spire dead" she explained, holding back tears when she realized that also included Bastila. "he is my commanding officer. Isn't that standard procedure?"

"Y-yes but… I thought you were a Jedi."

"I am also a Republic soldier, Ma'am."

The Admiral was silent as she looked over the young woman sitting in the Force cage in front of her, patiently looking at her. She looked into her eyes and she saw it, she saw the thing that had been bothering her ever since they first met. Her eyes. Those big bright blue eyes of hers. It was like looking a child into the eyes. They were empty, but not intrigued, they were curious, but careful at the same time, they were trusting and naïve, but tired. She felt the urge to kneel down and stroke her head, much like she would a lost child in a crowd, but she managed to hold herself back.

"Turn off the cage" she ordered the soldier next to the controls, who looked nervously at Aspyre before nodding and moving the level down and releasing Aspyre. Aspyre gingerly stood up and rubbed her wet eyes with her knuckles, which did nothing but enhance the image of a lost child Dodona had for her. "I'm sorry for that. It's standard procedure."

"Yes, Ma'am" she responded softly. Curse it, even the way she responded sounded like a baby girl. Clenching her teeth Dodona continued.

"This is Supreme Chancellor Dilkill. We wanted to see you and inform you of the Senate's decision."

"Nice to meet you, Sir" she politely said.

"Greetings… Miss Venar. I have been informed of your… condition. I wanted to inform you that you will be meeting with a few expert psychologists for the next few days."

"Why?"

"You have to understand that Revan has to answer for a many great deal of crimes that she committed against the Republic. Personally I would simply have you locked up and be done with it, but the Senate has voted that you are to be diagnosed first and see if it is true that you are not Revan."

"It's completely unnecessary, Aspyre. I vouched for you, but you know politicians and their quirks" Carth said with a wide grin. The Chancellor shot him a dirty look and spoke with narrowed eyes.

"Be mindful of your mouth, _Captain _you may be a Republic hero, but insulting the Chancellor is a very serious crime, and the law does not care who has broken it."

"No insult intended, sir. I was merely stating a fact."

"As I was saying" he said, turning to Aspyre. "You are going to be tested by several psychologists until it is determined without a doubt that you are not Revan. After we have received the report, what to do with you will be decided."

"With all due respect, sir" Aspyre began, and Carth did his best not to chuckle at what he hoped would come next. "but if I was Revan two things would have already happened. One, my eyes would have turned yellow by the corruption of the Dark Side, and two, you would all be dead, probably shocked with lightning until your flesh catches fire and you burn to death… She really likes doing that."

The Chancellor opened his eyes wide at her response and for a second he was at loss for words before he regained his composure.

"Nevertheless, you will still be tested, I want several opinions from different experts to make sure without a doubt that you are no longer Revan. You will be moved to another room, but you are still under custody until the tests are done. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir" she softly said before she yawned cutely. "I'm sorry, I'm just really sleepy. I haven't slept for about two days now."

The taken aback Chancellor held his gaze on her face before nodding to the Admiral and leaving with his escort.

"You hadn't used that word for quite a while" Carth said with a smile once Dodona had left.

"I haven't felt sleepy for quite a while" she shot back with a tired smirk. Carth offered her his hand and she took it, slowly being led to her new quarters. Every soldier they passes stiffened when they saw her and a few of the bolder ones removed their weapon's safety trigger off. "I miss my mask" she muttered under her breath.

"Well, I doubt they will let you have it back. They're really pissed with Revan right now."

"I guess."

"Listen, our room is just next to yours, so we're going to be seeing a lot of you. Unfortunately they only let one visitor at a time, so we'll take turns seeing you."

"Okay. Could you send Mission first? Bastila wanted me to… Well it's private" she saw with a playful, yet sad grin.


	35. The Inexperienced Babysitter

Chapter 35

Aspyre was tired of the tests, the questions, the interviews. It was really tiring and all she wanted to do was to rest. She was not even allowed to go to Bastila's funeral. She pressed her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around herself as she patiently waited for the next man to come and ask her the same questions, perform the same routine on her. Before the next man came, she decided to take a look around the room, which proved to be a mistake, a very big mistake.

The room was not very big, about ten meters wide and twelve long. There were two chairs in the middle, separated by a large metallic table. There was a bright strip of white light installed in the ceiling, which gave the silver colored room a very white feeling. A very familiar white feeling.

Frightfully shaking her head, Aspyre closed her eyes and softly began whispering.

"Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out" she went on and on. She was so focused on her whispers that she did not notice the man that entered the room and placed his hand on her shoulder. With a yelp she looked up and was greeted by the kind face of a young man. He had no beard, unlike the others, his black hair was very long, reaching his middle back, and he had bright green eyes. Overall he seemed much kinder that the rest of the old men she had been with.

"Hi" he said with a big smile. "How are you? My name is Kimball, Viccal Kimball."

"My name is Aspyre Venar, nice to meet you" she mechanically said.

"Do you want to take a seat in the table, Aspyre? Or are you more comfortable like this?"

"The chair is fine" she said as she took his hand and walked towards the table. She sat down and Viccal took out a datapad and began reading what it said for a few minutes silently. "What is that?"

"This? It's your file. Here it tells me what the other psychologists said about you."

"What does it say?"

"Nothing important. They all think you are ill; you have schizophrenia, dementia and a few other diseases that are completely wrong. At least I think they are."

"You don't think I'm ill?"

"No. I already heard the entire story from Master Vaandar. We all know you… Revan is suffering from dissociative identity disorder, but what they want to do is very… inhumane shall we say?"

"Of course it's inhumane, most of them were Twi-leks" she pointed out with a soft smile.

Viccal laughed and threw the data pad on the table. He had no books, no suitcases, nothing on him, unlike the rest. He only had his pants, his shirt and his boots. Had Aspyre seen him in the street she would have confused him for a teenager, not an expert psychologist.

"What?"

"You… You are really different from the rest."

"I will take that as a compliment" he said with a smile as he lifted his feet and placed his boots on the table, crossing them and adopting a very relax stance, not even looking at Aspyre. "So… basically what they want to do with you is erase you and bring Revan back. They think they can control her and bring her back to the light, but you think differently?"

"If they bring Revan back" she began for the ninth time that day. "She is going to kill you all, she is going to torture you and take her revenge for what the Jedi council did to her."

"What did they do to her?"

Aspyre pointed at herself.

"Ah… Well then I think there is one thing we can do."

"What?"

"I don't think I will get permission for this… I have had six cases of dissociative identity disorder so far. I actually was the first human that successfully treated a Rodian and a Twi-lek. I performed a modified version of the therapy, but everything worked out well in the end."

"So is that what you're going to do with me?"

"No. You see what I did with them was erase the second personality and revert them to their original persona, get it?"

"So if you did that with me…"

"We would get Revan" he finished for her.

"So what are you going to do?"

"The exact opposite."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I think with enough time I can erase Revan from your mind, and make Aspyre Venar the sole occupier of that pretty head of yours."

Aspyre blushed when he said pretty, but she managed to keep her mind on the business at hand.

"But I asked the others to do that and they said they couldn't erase the original persona in favor of a… an artificial one."

"Yes, I know. Revan is too strong, you are merely a visitor in her brain, blah, blah, blah. I think I have a way I can get her to leave. Permanently."

Aspyre shuddered at the thought of having that body finally for herself, not having to share, not having to deal with having a Sith Lord inside of her. But it felt like stealing, it really wasn't her. And despite the fact her mother was not real; she had taught her that stealing was wrong, no matter how bad the owner was.

"I'm… not sure."

"Why not?"

"This really isn't my body."

"I see…"

The two remained in silence for a long time, each pondering the rather unusual situation she was in. Aspyre really liked the idea of not having to worry about Revan, but would she be able to live with the guilt of having stolen her body like that?

"I don't think… I don't know. I'm tired."

"Look, why don't you go and rest? I'll tell them to give you some time and then you can decide what to do" Viccal said as he rose from his chair and headed towards the door. "Remember the chancellor still wants you shot, so maybe it would be best if you went back to your room and not give him any excuses to do it."

"Thank you. I'll do that."

00

It had been… two months since they destroyed the Star Forge, and in those short months a lot had happened. Aspyre was still in treatment, and the prediction was that she would be cured in a few more months. Republic, HK-47 and Zaalbar had travelled to Coruscant with her, both of them refusing to leave her side, HK programmed to be with her if he considered she was in danger. Jolee had gone to Dantooine after Bastila's funeral, supposedly to try and see what he could do to help in the ruined planet. Aspyre had allowed T3 to travel with him, and the kids had also chosen to go with him. Mission had jumped at the chance to go exploring again, and she had dragged Dustil with her. Of course Republic was not eager to let his son go, and it had taken Canderous' word that he would watch over him. Not that the kid needed to be watched over. Hell, he hated to admit it, but the kid could probably handle himself better than he could. At first he had been more than skeptical about bringing them with him, but when that annoying blue girl set her mind on something, she did everything possible to make sure she got it. Thankfully it had been a quiet journey, the kids were locked in the women's quarters like they usually were, T3 was doing his usual circuit of the Ebon Hawk's systems, and he was alone in the cockpit, smoothly navigating the mighty ship for the first time since he had "acquired" it. It had been a miracle the way the Republic got it out and repaired it, if anything the ship was even better than before. Both the upper and lower turret could now be set in auto fire, which was an ease on Canderous' mind, the hyperdrive no longer hummed like it used to, and the ship felt smoother than before. And it had been him who got to take it for a spin first. Canderous smiled as he remembered Carth's face when he had seen the Ebon Hawk again, and the face he made when Canderous told him he was taking it with him. Now that had been priceless.

"Hey" he heard Mission's soft voice behind him. He half turned and saw the young Twi-lek girl slowly walking his way, wrapped with one of Aspyre's robes she had probably found laying around. She looked drained, but not tired, usually the aftermath of a good time.

"Hey."

"So, you have been really quiet about this. Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there; I don't want to ruin the surprise."

"Oh, come on! Just give me one clue. At least tell me why we are going wherever we are going."

"You're going to keep asking and annoying me until I give you something, right?"

"Canderous Ordo, I am impressed. You seem to be getting to know me so well" she said with mock surprise.

"Fine… Aspyre…" he said before he could stop himself, and he saw Mission grinning widely at the fact that he had called her by her first name. "gave me some information about a very important item she… Revan hid in a certain planet."

"What item?"

"You said one clue."

"Fine…. How long until we get there?"

"We'll drop out of hyperspace in about a day and a half."

"I'm pretty sure it's stupid to ask this with you around, but should I bring a blaster?"

"You should always take a blaster with you everywhere you go" Canderous said with the same tone a teacher would speak to his students.

"Fine, fine…" she said before she closed her eyes for a few moments. "You seem tense."

"It's none of your business."

"Canderous, we survived the destruction of a planet, being captured by a Sith destroyer, crashing into a mysterious planet and a battle that changed the face of the galaxy, in your own words, I think it's my business to know why my friend is tense."

Canderous looked at the young Twi-lek staring at him with her curious eyes. He pondered for a few seconds on her. She was not a warrior, she was a survivor, the reasons why she fought were very different from his reasons. It was strange, all his life he had thought that fighting was, everything. A way to prove superiority, a way to test oneself and rise above the limits, a way to conquer and establish order. But as he looked at the young girl next to him. He wished she had never touched a weapon in her life, he wished she had grown in a place where she would have never experienced violence. It was very unusual, and he suspected if any Mandalorian found out, they would most definitely not follow him like Aspyre hoped.

"I spoke to Revan."

"What?"

"Aspyre, she… She asked to be locked inside a force cage and shackled before she let Revan loose. This was before her treatment started."

"What, what, what, what did you guys talk about?"

"Aspyre kind of forced her reveal the location of the mask of Mandalore."

"The mask of Mandalore?" the confused Twi-lek asked. Canderous took a deep breath before he began explaining.

"The mask of Mandalore has been worn by every single Mandalore that we have had. It is a sign of their authority, when a new Mandalore rises, every clan has to either submit to their rule or challenge Mandalore to a duel to the death. This would technically make Revan our Mandalore, but Revan chose to hide the mask, so that the Mandalorians would never be able to reunite under a single leader again."

"I see… But then why would she tell you?"

"The reason Revan did not want the Mandalorians to unite again was because they would pose a threat to her empire and the successful defense of the galaxy against something."

"Something?"

"She wouldn't tell me what."

"Okay."

"Anyways, with her empire destroyed, Revan told me where the mask was in an effort that the Mandalorians would unite again and protect the Republic from this threat."

"Why would the Mandalorians protect the Republic? They hate them don't you?"

"We don't hate the Republic; we just thought that we were better prepared to rule the galaxy..."

"So Aspyre wants you to unite the Mandalorians so that the galaxy is prepared to fight against whatever is coming?"

"Pretty much."

"Now you got me nervous!" she complained to the warrior, how looked at her with a confused look on his face. "I don't like the idea of something lurking out there and not knowing what it is!"

"Relax kid. If you are prepared then you have nothing to fear."

"Easy for you to say."

"Huh… I guess."

"So, after you find the mask what happens? Are you going to go back to Aspyre?"

"What? No, once I have the mask I have to reunite the clans, I have to travel to every possible planet and bring every last Mandalorian together in a single planet, where we will build our forces and prepare."

"What planet?"

"I don't know yet… First things first, though. I have to focus on getting that mask."

"Okay… And did you and Revan talk about something else?"

"Yeah…"

"Did you profess your love for her tactical genius and superiority in the battlefield?" she asked with exaggerated gestures, trying hard not to burst into laughter on his face.

Had Canderous not been strapped into his chair he would have ripped her lekkus off and strangled her to death with them.

"No" he spoke softly, his lower lip trembling slightly as he tried to regain control. "We spoke of other matters. Things you do better not knowing."

"I bet you kissed her, I bet you told her how much you admired her, I bet-"

Mission stopped in her tracks when she saw the look Canderous threw at her. She closed her mouth and was silent for a full minute while the inexperienced babysitter mustered all the patience he possibly could to try to speak to her without yelling at her.

"If you must know" he said very slowly. "We spoke about the Mandalorian war. She revealed very important information to me about that too."

"What?" she dared to ask, hoping she wouldn't be punched in the face too hard. Canderous took a deep breath and was quiet for a few minutes before he decided she was better now knowing about that.

"It doesn't matter… It's not important anymore" he finally said. Mission simply looked at him and waited silently for him to figure she wasn't going to stop bothering him until she was satisfied. "How I have not shot you yet amazes me."

"Me too" she responded with a grin.

"She told me the truth behind the Mandalorian wars."

"The truth?"

"The Mandalorian wars… they were planned by… The Sith."

"What? The Sith? But… Revan and Malak didn't become Sith until after the Mandalorian wars!"

"You're right. Revan turned to the Dark Side before the battle of Malachor V. I don't know what she was talking about."

"You think she was lying to you?"

"I don't think she was lying to me. Aspyre made certain of that. No, I think we don't know everything. But I should have known. Mandalore's tactics, the way we fought… everything. I should have seen it" he muttered before he closed his eyes in anger at himself.

"Seen what?"

"The way he fought. It was too precise, too stealthy, and too quiet. Very unlike a Mandalorian. And his decision to accept other races into the army other than the Taungs."

"Taungs?"

"An alien race, they're the original Mandalorians. Before the war, before the rise of Mandalore the Ultimate, the Mandalorian army was comprised exclusively of Taungs. He was the one that decided to conscript alien races into the army."

"Why should that have told you anything?"

"Mandalore changed a lot. At least that Mandalore changed a lot of things in our culture. I think he was being used. Someone, maybe one of his advisors, wanted the wars to happen, and they helped him. Why I do not know… That is one of the things I need to find out."

"Canderous..."

"But maybe he wasn't being used" he interrupted her. "Maybe he knew…"

"You think he was part of the Sith plan?"

"I don't know. I don't even know what Sith Revan was talking about… I still have much to understand, but for now I'm just going to focus on finding Mandalore's mask and rallying our forces."

"Wait, you said Mandalore the ultimate allowed other races to join the Mandalorians. Does that mean that had he not done that, you would not have been able to become a Mandalorian?"

"Yeah."

"Hum… Well, things took a turn for the best, then! Don't worry about this so much, I think you'll do just fine" she said as she stood up with a smile. "We'll get through, we always do."

"You should stop speaking in plural."

"You should stop speaking in singular" she said as left the cockpit.

Canderous smiled as he focused on the chart readings again.

"_Ke barjurir gar'ade, jagyc'ade kot'la a dalyc'ade kotla'shya__" _he whispered to himself with a grin. "Truer words have never been spoken."

00

Viccal reread the last report we had written before he sent it to both the Chief of the facility and to Chancellor Dilkill. It seemed solid enough. A few more weeks, just a few more mere weeks and he would be able to get rid of Revan. He was going to gain a level of prestige previously reserved only for the founders of the most important schools of psychology and at the young age of 24 he was going to match. The first person to ever perform a reverse therapy for dissociative identity disorder. The books he would be able to write, the interview he would do, he was going to rise to levels he previously had only dreamt of. He finished reading the report and decided it was good enough. He sent it to both of them before heading to say hello to Aspyre. She had been showing remarkable progress and Viccal had started feeling so proud of her. He didn't want her to feel like he was just using her to become famous, so he made it clear that he viewed her as a friend he was trying to help, and not a test subject like he was sure any other of those old idiots would have done. The truth was that he had taken a liking to the girl. She was funny, entertaining, witty and beautiful above everything else. The way she looked at everything with such childish curiosity, such passion for life. It was admirable really. He nodded to the security guards posted at her door and pressed the release button to enter her cell. She looked up from her bed and placed next to her the datapad she was reading.

"What you got there?" he said as he sat down next to her.

"Oh… It's… Bastila's diary."

"I see… Who gave you that?"

"Carth."

"I thought you said we were going to deal with that later. You said getting rid of Revan was your number one priority."

"I know… I guess… I guess it's not anymore."

"Do you want to… do you want to stop?" he asked, the words feeling like poison on his mouth.

"No… We can't really. I guess… I guess I just miss her."

"Yeah, I guess you do…" he said as he debated about the situation. He needed Aspyre in top shape for the treatment and so far he was under the impression that she was. The fact that she was reading Bastila's diary bothered him a lot. He wasn't certain if it would be wise to continue with the treatment without addressing that issue first, but he was under a tightly schedule. If the Supreme Chancellor found any excuse to lash out at them, he would. Finally his conscience won and he silently kicked himself for what he was saying. "I think we should stop, Aspyre. I think we should talk about you and Bastila for the next few days."

Aspyre looked up at him with wet eyes before she closed them and softly nodded.

00

It was pouring heavily when Canderous, Mission and Dustil got out of the Ebon Hawk. Canderous had landed the ship in the only stable patch of land he was able to find, which unfortunately was about a hundred miles away from the place where Revan had told him the mask would be. Which meant they were going to have to trek for about two days in this planet, practically blind. Canderous simply hoped that their signal could be tracked from the Ebon hawk without much difficulty.

"So, where to!" Dustil yelled as he used his hand to get some of his wet hair out of his face.

"North from our position, about one hundred miles! There should be a temple Revan visited! She said she left the mask inside!"

"Let's hurry, I don't want to spend a minute more than I have to in this place!" Mission said as she wrapped Aspyre's cloak tighter around her body. Canderous did the same with his cloak and was very grateful his armor was automatically heated before taking off the rocky path. He took the lead, while Dustil took the rear, and the three of them slowly advanced through the rocky canyon. A few hundred meters to their right a large ocean covered their sight, and to their left, the tall canyon wall blocked their path. It was going to be a very unpleasant trip, but the thought of getting his hands on Mandalore's mask gave Canderous more than enough energy to keep going even in the harshest environments.

What little light the sun had given them under that harsh rain storm, was removed when the night fell, and Canderous found himself unable to see what was a meter in front of him, and many times he stumbled with loose rocks or uneven edges.

"We have to stop, Canderous!" Mission yelled behind him.

"Not yet! We have to cover at least forty miles today! We still need five more!"

"We can't keep walking like this! We're wasting more energy than making progress here!" Dustil complained from the rear. "We have to save our strength so we can cover more ground tomorrow morning!"

Canderous gritted his teeth as he pondered on the situation. The kids were right, in the last half hour they had covered half the distance in twice the time. And he felt drained.

"All right! Over by the canyon wall!" he yelled, pointing to a medium sized hole about fifty meters away from them. "We can rest there!"

Mission happily nodded and they made their way. They climbed the uneven territory and finally reached the hole that Canderous had spotted. It was big enough to shelter them from the rain, and thankfully very little wind actually entered the small cave. Taking off his wet cloak, Canderous sat down and opened his pack, taking out two glowing rods which he threw at the end and middle of the cavern. Quickly checking it was empty, he relaxed his body and observed how the kids huddled together near him, desperately trying to keep warm. Canderous took out a dry blanket out of his bag and threw it at them. Whispering their thanks, the kids dried themselves as best they could and they huddled together. Canderous checked his scanner to make sure there were no live forms near them, giving the area two sweeps to be extra certain.

"Were fine!" he yelled. Even inside the cave, the sound of the rain was deafening. "You two take the first watch! Wake me up in four hours!"

"Okay!"

Canderous laid down flatly, took out another blanket out of his pack and wrapped himself with it. He took out a single energy bar and quickly ate it, chugging it down with some water. He closed his eyes and began thinking about the mask of Mandalore and the brilliant future he would carve for the Mandalorians.

00

_FUN FACTS!_

_Yay! It's been a while. Okay so first fun fact, what Canderous says to himself after Mission leaves the cockpit is: __Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger. It's a Mandalorian saying, I thought it was apt for the situation ^-^ ._

_ We're going to focus on Canderous' travels, but not on this story, in here I'm just going to lay the groundwork for that one, it's going to focus on his travels to gather the clans. I'm thinking of having Mission and Jolee follow him on the Black Ark, since by canon standards they are the only ones that were "available" shall we say? Anyways, I would love to receive feedback on that idea, since I have been toying with it since… well since I started writing this chapter so tell me what you think about that. Thanks!_

_ Because the Old Republic has not been released yet and the info I can get is limited, there might be some discrepancies between the canon stuff and Canderous' travels and the curretn path the story will take, but… meh. I'll try to be as accurate as possible._


	36. The Calling Of The Light

Chapter 36 The End

Aspyre's breathing rapidly increased as the electric shocks travelled through her brain. She gritted her teeth as the second wave hit her head and she gripped the chair tightly when the third struck. By the time the fourth was done her legs were crossed and she was trying really hard to get Revan out of her mind. It hurt badly, but Viccal had said it was the only way to quiet her down and eventually drive her out of her mind. The procedure had started six hours ago and she was only granted short breaks for her body to heal, but they needed her mind to be tired, to be weakened for the last part of the treatment. She saw Viccal increase the energy input and she finally screamed in pain as even more shocks covered her until she felt she was about to pass out. She managed to press the safety button located in the underside of the arm rest and Viccal stopped the current before rushing forward towards her.

"Aspyre? Can you hear me?"

"-bit" she managed to blurt out.

"Okay. She's ready!" he yelled at the two men on the other side of the room, who rushed forward, picked her up and took her to another room with an operating table in the middle. "Aspyre are you still awake?"

"Uh."

They finished strapping her and by that point she could barely see, the black lines were covering most of her sight. She turned her head to her left and saw Viccal approaching her with a stun baton.

"Sorry about this, I was hoping you would be unconscious by now."

Had she been able to speak, she would have told him there was no problem, but the shocks she received, plus the extra charge from the stun baton left her in a near comatose state.

00

The temple stood in the middle of a small valley surrounded by sharp rocks. Despite the pouring rain, the rock still managed to look dry and coarse, and as Canderous placed his knee on one to lift himself up, he confirmed the felt the same way. They had travelled as soon as the sun had risen, but still progress had been very slow. It had taken them an extra day than what Canderous had hoped. Still, they had made it, and Canderous was happy. The temple was a square stone structure, built exactly in the middle of the valley, built in such a way the only entrance was facing the rising sun.

"That thing looks like it's going to fall apart any second!" Mission yelled in Canderous' ear.

"Feel free to stay here!"

The grumbling teenager rolled her eyes as she took the lead and eagerly began descending the valley. Canderous had hoped that the temple wasn't very big, and that Revan hadn't gone through too much trouble to hide the mask, after all, she didn't tell him where it was, exactly. But something told him that Revan probably hid it very, very, _very _carefully. Turns out he was right the first time.

They entered the temple with relative ease. Canderous shot the crumbling door down, and without even waiting for the dust to settle, he entered the temple, expecting to find a complex maze or hordes of droids, or a difficult puzzle or something that would be between them and the mask of Mandalore.

But there it stood, gently placed in a small stand, at the same height where Mandalore the Ultimate would have stood. The skeptical Mandalorian took a careful step forward before he began inspecting every centimeter of the temple he was able to see. He quickly ran his scanner to check there were no vital signs apart from their own and then took forward another step. The mask was right there, he could barely contain his desire to reach out and take it, but something held him back. Years of training had taught him that a situation was never as simple as it looked, and when it involved something as important as the mask of Mandalore, it was even less likely to be as simple as it looked. He carefully inspected the rest of the temple; it was a single room, with no other entrance or exit other than the one in their back. The aged stone walls hid no indentations that Canderous could see and he did not see any lasers, mines or tripwires in the room.

"I don't there's anything else other than the mask in here, Canderous" Dustil said after a few minutes of silence.

"Revan would not have left something as valuable as this without some protection, there's bound to be something guarding it."

"Well, then we'll deal with whatever it is!" Mission said as she rushed forward and joyfully grabbed the mask before Canderous had a chance to stop her. For a few seconds Canderous stood frozen where he stood, waiting for something to shoot her, crush her, vaporize her or decapitate her, but nothing happened. "Ha! I knew there was nothing here."

Canderous silently took the mask from her hands and looked it over again and again. It had to be a fake. Could it really be? Could the mask he held in his hands truly be the mask wore by Mandalore the Ultimate and his predecessors? He wasn't sure he had never seen it from so close before, but it certainly was Mandalorian, it looked like it had seen some combat, but could it really be?

"I'm pretty sure that's the real deal" Dustil said as he too, stared at it in awe.

There! In the top of the mask! With shaking fingers Canderous grabbed the thread of gold golden hair resting on the mask and pulled, and pulled, and pulled until it was finally free and resting on his hands. Revan's golden hair. Aspyre's golden hair.

"This is it" he said with a voice as shaky as his hands. "This is the mask of Mandalore. I can't believe it."

Canderous threw a look at the stand where the mask had rested. There was a small red button under it, and he carefully pressed it. A small hologram appeared where the mask had laid. It was Revan, not wearing her mask, her sickly yellow eyes burning into them as they fell into a trance.

"Congratulations, you found the mask. You're probably wondering if that is the real mask since there were no security measures to protect it. It is" the hologram spoke as it sat down on the ground and stared straight ahead. "I considered it a waste of time and effort, chances are, if you're here, it's because I gave you this location, which mean I wanted you to find this mask... You know why you came for it, you know what you have to do, don't hesitate to do it. When the time comes, you're going to need to be prepared. In case I fail in my revenge, you must carry it out for me. I don't know how you are, but I know you are competent, or you would not be here" the hologram continued as it stood up and placed the black and red mask over her face. "So go, Mandalore. Carry out what you were born to do."

And with that, the hologram turned off. The three of them were silent for a while, until Mission took a step forward and pressed the button again, but nothing happened. Satisfied that there was nothing of interested in the small vault, she turned to face Canderous.

"Try it on" Mission whispered with a smile on her face. Canderous looked at her with eyes wide open before he nodded and slowly turned the mask around. The straps were there, solid as the day it was built. He took it and placed it on his face, then he grabbed the straps and firmly but gently strapped it to his head. He breathed in and out a few times before he dared to open his eyes. No words in Mandalorian, Basic, Twi-lek, Rodian or Huttesse could ever make justice to how Canderous Ordo felt in that moment. It was a unique feeling, a combination of pride, fear, expectation, anxiety, joy, determination and hope that grew inside of him and made him feel alive, more than anything else ever did.

"Wow" Dustil whispered.

"It looks good" Mission said with a bright smile that lit the room.

"It… It feels good" Canderous said with an invisible smile.

"Come on" Dustil said as he slapped his shoulder. "You can show it off to my dad. He'll love it."

"Good to see his sense of humor isn't one of the things you got from him, kid."

The trio exited the temple and began climbing the valley wall in silence, the rain no longer bothering them. Canderous was still somewhat suspicious that it had been so easy to get the mask; all they had had to do was walk in the rain for three days and get inside a crumbling temple. Surely Revan would have had some kind of security measure to protect it? Could it have been deactivated? Could somebody else have come in that time? A cold shudder ran through Canderous' back. What if this wasn't the mask? Sure, a lot of the younger Mandalorians would not know the difference, but some of the older ones; they would definitely recognize it… As he finished climbing the valley wall and started the long trek back to the ship, Canderous thought of a solution. He would need to find an aged Mandalorian, somebody that had seen the mask from up close and would be able to recognize it in private, before he started gathering the clans. And he knew just the man.

00

Aspyre woke up, feeling extremely tired and wishing she was still asleep. She grabbed her pillow and hugged it while she covered herself completely with her covers, she did not want to be disturbed. Her body ached and her head was throbbing even worse than it usually did and she simply wished to go back to sleep. After a few minutes she realized she wasn't going to go back to sleep and with a heavy sense of frustration she opened her eyes. She used the Force to turn on the light switch and sat up on her bed. How had she gotten to her bed? As a matter of fact, where the hell was she? This wasn't her room. She didn't know where she was. Yawning, the young girl stood up and headed to the only door. She pressed the release button but nothing happened.

"Aspyre?" a voice behind her said. For a second she froze, fearing that it would be Revan speaking to her, but when she turned around she realized it was just an intercom. "Can you hear me?"

"Viccal? Is that you?"

"Yeah. How are you feeling?"

"Not very well, my head really hurts, more than it ever has. What's going on? Where am I?"

"We're done, Aspyre" he calmly said. Aspyre tried to process the words, but her head was pounding to hard and she couldn't think straight. "Did you hear me?"

"Done?"

"It worked."

Aspyre shot her head up and looked at the mirror located on the wall. Her reflection stared back at her, wearing a surprised and scared mask over its face.

"She's… is she gone?"

"You tell me."

For everlasting minutes Aspyre stared at herself, exploring every inch of her body, looking for the smallest trace of Revan she could find, she stared at her hands, her arms, she looked at her eyes, she ran her fingers through her hair, she turned around and looked at her back, she took of her shirt and shorts and looked at her naked body, she took a step forward and touched the cold mirror. Was she herself? Was Revan gone? Without even bothering to put her clothes back on she sat down on the ground in standard meditating position and began looking inside her mind. She slowly began ignoring the outside world and focused only on herself. She began reading herself, watching her, reliving her memories. No trace of Revan. She looked around until she found on particular memory, the one when she dreamt of visiting the Star Map in Dantooine with Malak. It was there, and she saw Revan and Malak walking inside the temple… She froze there. She remembered it again and saw Revan and Malak walking inside the temple. Just to be certain she tried one more time and saw Revan and Malak walking inside the temple. She saw Revan and Malak walking inside the temple, not herself and Malak. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. That was it. She stood up in shock and looked at the opening door. Viccal stepped inside and wrapped her with a white robe. She stared at him silently until her brain managed to respond.

"She's gone."

Viccal smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder, firmly shaking her. His smile widened to the point Aspyre thought it wasn't going to fit inside his mouth.

"Good."

00

Zaalbar eagerly waited for Aspyre to come out of her room alongside Carth. For the first time since they discovered she was in Revan's body, the rest would see her like he did, a kind individual, a selfless individual, and one that he was proud to serve. Zaalbar's thoughts went towards his life debt. Now that the Jedi Civil War was over, would Aspyre allow him to return to Kashyyyk a free wookie? Or would she ask him to continue protecting her? He contemplated on that for a moment, and concluded that both options would be fine by his standards. Aspyre didn't understand it, she thought that he was forced to serve her, that he was unwillingly serving her, what she didn't understand was that fulfilling a life debt was done willingly or it was not done, that performing a life debt _was _to be free, because he had, out of his own desire, chosen to follow her, which proved that his life was his own, it was in its own way, the ultimate expression of freedom. Much like the way being a Jedi was being the ultimate expression of power, exemplified by the choice of not using it.

Zaalbar was brought back from his thought by the sound of footsteps approaching. Lifting his head quickly and standing as straight as he could he saw two Republic troopers walking down the hall, Aspyre right behind them, more radiant and beautiful than he had ever seen her. She walked down the hallway confidently, with a smile on her face that showed off her bright white teeth. She was wearing her hair tied up in a tall ponytail that ended in her lower back, her hair had grown even longer since they first met, yet it had lost none of its glow. She was wearing her white Jedi robes, both lightsabers clipped to her belt. Her boots were new, they shined a bright blue that matched the color of her eyes, belt and gloves. Custom made, Zaalbar suspected.

"Hi" she breathed to both of them.

"Aspyre, how are you feeling?" he growled a softly as he could in the hopes of not rousing the guards, but still he failed.

"Better than ever, Big Z. Better than ever" she said with barely controlled joy.

"It looks like everything turned out okay in the end" Carth said, beaming too.

"Much better than okay."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's get back to the Hawk, I want to tell everybody what happened."

00

Jolee sat back and lifted his boots on the Ebon Hawk's main room table and listened to what Aspyre was saying with a broad smile on his face. So in the end everything had worked out not as bad as he thought it would for the lass.

"Well, they began asking all these questions about Revan and myself and the war and where they had gone. One really mean senator tried to get me to confess that I actually knew where I had gone and that if I didn't tell the Republic I would be incarcerated for life, but Viccal and Admiral Dodona stepped in and helped me."

"But surely they must have asked for further proof and other bureaucratic things like that, right?" Dustil asked with closed eyes.

"Yup, but Viccal had many other doctors and psychologists come and check me, they all agreed that I was fine and that his procedure was a success, the Senate couldn't do anything. After that they wanted to appeal to the Regional courts, but the voting was unsuccessful for that too."

"So… What? Are you free?" Mission impatiently asked.

Aspyre nodded before smiling wide.

"Not only that. We are going to be awarded the cross of glory for our actions!"

"You're kidding" Carth breathed out in surprise. He had expected them to be awarded something alright, but never the Cross of Glory. That was the highest honor that The Republic could bestow on an individual, there was no greater honor to be gained once a man had been given the Cross of Glory. It had only been given twice before in the entire history of the Republic, and now it was going to be given to them. Carth knees shook when he understood Aspyre's words.

"And Master Vaandar said he's going to give me and Jolee the title of Jedi Knight!" she exclaimed as she happily jumped up and down. At that moment Jolee stood up and looked at Aspyre closely, his face a combination of surprise and rejection, but curiosity as well. Becoming a Jedi Knight was every Padawan's dream, but was he even a Padawan still? He pondered for a second on what his choice was, he could say no to Master Vaandar, he would understand, but then again, the order had been dealt a devastating blow, having lost the Enclave in Dantooine like that. Maybe now he had a chance to help rebuild it and install his own philosophies, help improve the Jedi order, fix the flaws he saw in it. "If you want to."

"Yeah, why not, after all these years I might as well finish the way it's supposed to, right?" he said with fake exasperation. Aspyre giddily screamed and hugged him tightly before kissing him in the cheek and turning towards Dustil.

"And you" she said as she pointed at him.

"Me."

"Yup. Master Vaandar says you are welcomed into the order, should you wish to accept the calling of the light, as he put it?"

"If I join I guess I can't have attachments, right?"

Aspyre looked over at Mission and pondered for a second. The council had accepted Revan and Alek's relationship, they had accepted Bastila's and hers… would they accept another one? Something told her that because Dustil dabbled with the Dark Side of the Force they would be skeptical about allowing him that.

"I guess… I don't think they would let you."

"But they let me keep my lightsaber, right?"

"Like it or not, that's yours, they can't take that away from you without it being stealing. Unless you perform a crime with it, in which case then they will hunt you for it."

"Alright… Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass."

"Mmm… too bad… Anyways, that's the news I wanted to give you, and… Where's Canderous?"

"He's in the garage" Mission whispered in her ear. "He _really _wants to talk to you. He's been dying to see you ever since we left. Even when he went inside the temple, and he got the mask, all he could think about was getting back to you. Before he entered the temple he told us in case he died there, we had to come back to you and-"

"Mission!" Dustil hissed at her. "He's going to kill you if you finish that sentence!"

Aspyre raised her eyebrows at the blushing teenager, who simply smiled at her before dashing out of the Ebon Hawk as fast as her little legs would carry her. But it didn't matter where she was, not even the Supreme Chancellor's office would protect her from the Mandalorian's wrath if he found out. After smiling at the rest of the crew and ordering HK and T3 to stay outside the garage, she slapped the release button and entered, quickly locking the door behind her. Canderous was sitting on the workbench, quietly looking at the Mask of Mandalore.

"You found it" she whispered softly.

"Yeah… I can't believe I'm actually holding it in my hands."

"She didn't lie to you, then."

"No, she spoke the truth."

"Too bad you can't thank her anymore."

"I can thank you" he said as he raised his gaze and landed it on her face. "It's because of you that I was able to find this. It's because of you that I gained the confidence to actually go and search for this mask. And it was you that forced Revan to speak the truth. I highly doubt she would have told me otherwise."

Aspyre blushed and she silently wished that she had not left her white mask in her quarters.

"You're flattering me" she said softly. The large Mandalorian took a step forward and took something from his back pocket, handing it to her gently. Aspyre looked down at the shielded mask looking straight back at her and she smiled at the gesture. "Thank you" she said as she placed it on. She grabbed her white hood and lifted it, covering half her face just like Revan used to do. "What do you say we go and scare some politicians?"

"You read my mind" Canderous said as he placed on his own mask.

Mandalore and Revan exited the garage and were about to exit the Ebon Hawk before they were stopped by Carth, looking at them both with a stern face.

"Really?"

"Oh, sir! Please, they have put me through hell, can't I get a little payback?" Aspyre asked as she clasped her hands and cocked her head to the right, batting her eyebrows in the cutest way she could before she remember he couldn't see her eyes very well with her mask.

"Revenge, Aspyre? That's sounding awfully close to Revan talk if you ask me." With a heavy sigh, Aspyre took of her mask and hooked it next to her blue lightsaber before crossing her arms and grumpily looking at her superior officer. The satisfied Carth looked at Canderous with a smile on his face before he left. "It suits you" he said over his shoulder.

"What do you say we go to the women's quarters? I'm sure Mission won't need to go in right now" Aspyre said once Carth wasn't within earshot.

"I don't know, I liked the idea of scaring those wimpy Republic bureaucrats, it would have been-" Canderous started, before Aspyre lifted the mask, pulled his head down and forcefully kissed him. "Well, if you insist."

With a big smile on her face Aspyre led the way into the women's quarters and locked the door, last thing she wanted was Mission recording them just like last time.

00

Aspyre stood in front of Bastila's burial site. They had cremated her with all the honors a Jedi Master deserved, and a large stone plate had been placed over her grave. She silently placed a single flower she had found on the way there. She didn't even know what the flower was called, she just thought it was appropriate. With a heavy sigh she sat down and rested her back next to the grave. The demolished ruins of the Dantooine Enclave were visible from where she stood, but somehow they didn't look so gloomy from over here. The truth was she would be unable to find a more beautiful place in all of Dantooine. She was located in the middle of the plains, where strong winds gushed by, a few trees grew close by, and some bushes decorated the area with their beautiful flowers. Aspyre looked around her and decided this was a nice place to be. She looked over at what the inscription in the tablet said.

"Here lies Jedi Knight Bastila Shan, Heroine of the Republic. _The Force fights with me_" She read softly. Smiling to herself, she took out her blue blade and quickly carved a few extra words in the bottom. She stood up and looked down at her work. Satisfied she took one last look at the beautiful plains around her. The midday sun was bathing her in a delicious warmth that soothed her completely, it truly was divine.

She got up and walked back towards the Ebon Hawk, where the rest of the crew was waiting for her. It was interesting but despite each having being offered their own positions and given their own path, nobody really had wanted to leave. Carth had told the Republic he would accept the promotion to Admiral, but not just yet, he said he wanted to travel with Aspyre for a little longer, and the Republic had accepted. Dustil had decided he wanted to stay in Telos and help in the reconstruction program that The Republic was planning for it, but again, he would wait until the plan was actually ready. Mission of course, wanted to go with him. Only Jolee had decided to accept being reintegrated into the Jedi Order with the hopes of righting some wrongs he saw in it. Aspyre had told Zaalbar he was free to go back to Kashyyyk, but the young wookies had told her he wanted to stay with her, until _he_ had decided that she no longer needed him. T3 and HK were obviously going where she was going, and Canderous…

Canderous. He said he wanted to go and meet with a man that could help him make sure that the mask he was wearing was really the mask of Mandalore, although very little doubt was actually running among the crew of The Ebon Hawk. Aspyre supposed she would go with him, for the moment she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could… She turned around and looked at Bastila's tombstone. She couldn't really postpone what she had to do much longer. She really didn't want to go, but she had no choice, too many lives were at stake. Three months had passed since the destruction of the Star Forge, and the Republic was doing well in the rebuilding department, but they would be unable to withstand the fury of the Sith. For the Sith would strike soon, and they would strike hard and precise into the heart of the Republic. A thousand years of hate had made them strong, and it would take the best men and women in the Republic to hold them back. But even with that, even with the Republic at full strength, even with the aid of the Mandalorians, Aspyre wondered if they would be able to survive. Despite her best efforts, Revan had failed, and where she had failed, Aspyre had to succeed, failure was not an option.

She turned around and saw Canderous in the distance, he was staring off at the place where they had once fought the Mandalorian pirates, so long ago. She saw him and a small tear formed in her right eye, for she could not be with him. Not for long anyways. If she stayed with him, then she would be dooming everybody to die, including him… if she wanted him to live, she would have to let him go, just like she had let Bastila go.

Taking a deep breath Aspyre returned to the Ebon Hawk and silently climbed aboard, pulling Canderous with her. She went directly for the women's quarters and laid down in her bed, taking soothing breaths to calm herself while she heard Canderous heading yet again to the garage. She heard the engines start and after a few minutes she felt Carth lifting the Ebon Hawk into the skies of Dantooine. So to Coruscant they went, to leave Jolee with the Jedi order, where he would begin his new life. A short new life, Canderous had pointed out with glee, but a new one nonetheless. After a while she stood up and saw Mission standing in the doorway. The teenager walked next to her and hugged her silently as Aspyre showed her with her mind's eye what she had written in Bastila's gravestone.

_"I said yes, my love."_

She tried, but Mission found herself unable to suppress a laugh.

"You hypocrite" the young blue Twi-lek said while the blonde human girl stroked her lekku.

"Hey, nobody's perfect, right?" Aspyre Venar shot back as she hugged her friend tightly.

00

"So where are we going after everybody leaves?" a naked Aspyre asked as she laid down next to an equally naked Canderous.

"Why are you so curious?"

"You know me, inquisitive by nature."

"Yeah, I guess I do… We're going back to Ordo, there is a man there that might be able to tell me where the man I'm looking for is."

"Who is he?"

"Jagi's father."

"Oh…"

"Yeah…"

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I have to."

"Will he get mad?"

"Not with me, but with Jagi."

"I see… and the mask?"

"I'm not going to take it with me, not there. Until I can find him, I won't show it to any Mandalorian we might find."

"Good call."

"I'm going to miss that old man, he was fun to hang out with" the veteran warrior unexpectedly said, earning a raised eyebrow from the girl next to him.

"Is that a touch of sentiment I'm hearing from Canderous Ordo, the same man that destroyed cities with his weapons, the same man that fought the Sith in the Star Forge, the same man that mocked and made fun of our pilot for being too soft?" she jokingly asked as she stroked his chest with her soft hand.

"Don't you dare tell anybody" he warned her. Laughing, Aspyre planted a kiss on his cheek and closed her eyes.

"Me too."

00

_Ok, this a somewhat revised version of the final chapter, with a few changes to it. Mostly some grammatical and spelling horrors I had made, but I also added some lines of dialogue and a new paragraph when Canderous and co. find the mask of Mandalore, hopefully it now makes sense why it was so easy for them to get it :D Let's see, what else? Oh, I'm writing another novel, this one set in the Old Republic video game, it features the female trooper (also voiced by Jennifer Hale, so read her lines with her voice ^_^) other than that, there's not much else to tell, I didn't receive much feed back on the Canderous story so I skipped that, I'll focus on the old republic for now Happy reading!_

_P.S: don't be afraid to add reviews to this, I really don't mind, I swear I don't mind XD_


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